Sixth Circuit to Hear Kurita Appeal Against TNDP

A former state senator will appeal her case against the Tennessee Democratic Party to a three-judge panel later this month.

In 2007 Clarksville Democrat Rosalind Kurita cast a deciding vote to hand control of the state senate to Republicans. In a reelection fight a year later she narrowly won the Democratic primary. But in a move some saw as payback, the party stripped her of its nomination, giving it to challenger Tim Barnes. Kurita sued, claiming that violated due process, but she couldn’t stop Barnes from taking her senate seat that fall.

Now some say her appeal could test how much control political parties can have over nominations.