Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Ashjian says he’s not expecting Tea Party endorsement

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Sam Morris

Jon Scott Ashjian

Sun Coverage

CARSON CITY – Scott Ashjian, fighting to remain on the election ballot as the Tea Party candidate for the U.S. Senate in Nevada, says he doesn’t think he will get the endorsement of the party to be made Thursday.

Ashjian also says he doesn’t intend to attend a rally of the Tea Party on Thursday in Carson City.

His comments came after District Judge Todd Russell took under study arguments in a suit filed by Tim Fasano, the Senate candidate for the Independent American Party, to remove Ashjian from the ballot.

Ashjian intends to run, even without the endorsement of national Tea Party officials. He subscribes to the doctrine of limited government, but he says he hasn’t collected any campaign contributions and has only spent his own money so far. He didn't know how much money that was.

Joel Hansen, attorney for the Independent American Party, said Ashjian made a false statement when he filed his candidacy and Judge Russell must remove him from the ballot.

Hansen argued that Ashjian signed his declaration of candidacy on March 2 as a member of the Tea Party, but Ashjian was still a Republican and didn’t switch his registration to the Tea Party until later in the day.

But Allen Lichtenstein, attorney for Ashjian, told the judge there was substantial compliance with the law. He said Ashjian didn't mislead the voters. The registration was changed within hours.

“The integrity of the system did not suffer,” he said.

Lichtenstein said Ashjian doesn’t have to be a member of the Tea Party or a registered voter to sign up as a candidate. Hansen said the issue is whether he filed a false statement on his candidacy declaration.

Asked why he didn’t think he would get the endorsement of the Tea Party, Ashjian said it has come out "with a lot of negative advertisements" and made false statements about him.

He said the best candidate for the Republican Party would be former Assemblywoman Sharron Angle of Reno, “but I don’t think she will be nominated.”

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