What’s motivating Bob Hickingbottom’s far-fetched run for governor of Mississippi is subject to speculation.
The little-known Democratic candidate seems more intent on helping Republicans, particularly those on the far right, than he is in bolstering Democratic chances in November.
Nevertheless, the state Democratic Party’s efforts to keep him off its primary ballot had no legal merit. A state judge ruled correctly that Hickingbottom’s candidacy should be reinstated, even though the court challenge was technically filed late.
The problem Democrats had was their main excuse to justify Hickingbottom’s disqualification was not applied uniformly. The party said he did not meet its qualifications because he had failed to file a mandatory report with the state Ethics Commission. As Magnolia Tribune first reported, though, 56 other Democrats were guilty of the same omission, but their candidacies were not thrown out.
The Democratic Party’s leadership had created a fiction, and it got called on it.
