Mobile school teacher Alisha Nelson McElhenney banked only $6,578 in her May 8 campaign finance report for her primary challenge against LG Tate Reeves. Reeves banked $276K this period and is showing $2.42 million COH.
McElhenney initially qualified to run for Sen. Michael Watson’s seat. When Watson did not run for LG against Tate Reeves, McElhenney essentially switched with Watson and ran for LG. Her candidacy is widely expected to be a litmus test for tea party/liberty groups including the United Conservatives Fund.
UPDATE – 3:05 pm
A title to a post this morning about Alisha McElhenney’s campaign finance report stated UCF “backed” McElhenney. The UCF issued a press release included in its entirety below and we have included that in its entirety stating that they have in fact not chosen to support McElhenney or any other conservative in the LG race. Although the story was titled incorrectly, the rest of the story is correct. The title has been corrected.
For the record, the trial lawyer suit referred to in UCF’s response was dismissed multiple times and in multiple courts as being utterly without merit.
Contact: B. Keith Plunkett
601.717.3868
UNITED CONSERVATIVES FUND RESPONDS TO FALSE REPORTS ON YALLPOLITICS.COM
May 14, 2015-(Laurel, MS.) – The United Conservatives Fund (UCF) today released the following statement regarding a false report on the website YallPolitics.com. The post headline claimed UCF was “backing” a candidate for Lt. Governor in the upcoming statewide elections, and the article claimed the race was “widely expected to be a litmus test for tea party/liberty groups including the United Conservatives Fund.”
“Once again we see how Alan Lange and his cohorts at Y’all Politics are fond of broad misrepresentations without respect to facts,” said UCF spokesperson Keith Plunkett. “UCF has a system in place for candidates to submit their information, and our executive committee is looking at many who have done so.
The United Conservatives Fund has had no contact with Mrs. McEllhenney or her campaign. Should she decide to reach out we will take a look at her information just like we have all the others.”
“Our 9-member committee from across the state is working on evaluations of the candidates,” Plunkett said. “We will request additional information from them in the next few days to begin finalizing who we may support and in what form that support will be. But, no such announcements of support have been confirmed or scheduled at this time. For Y’all Politics to claim otherwise is just more evidence of how untrustworthy they have become as a source of information, and of the politically charged negative drivel they now promote.”
Plunkett said Y’all Politics “descent into tabloid hatefulness has sometimes been excruciating to watch.”
“Many writers try to be colorful and creative in how they present information,” said Plunkett. “I certainly have. But, when the information itself is untrue, well that’s at best dishonest – at worst it’s defamation.”
This is not the first time Lange has faced such questions. A twenty-year veteran FBI agent sued Lange along with co-author Tom Dawson and publisher Pediment Publishing in 2010 for defamation following the publication of the book, Kings of Tort.
“Y’all Politics was once a valued source of information,” said Plunkett. “It appears Alan’s willingness to put things in a false light to build his brand of negative politics and as a means to hold on to an audience has changed that. Mississippians deserve better. I hope he will do the right thing and issue a retraction.”
Magnolia Tribune
