District 21 Republican Sues Republican Chair

Last year's District 21 Senate challenger and Republican district chairman, Steven Ricks, has filed a libel suit against Idaho State Republican Chairman Norm Semanko, in response to a letter Semanko sent out regarding a letter Ricks sent out as part of his campaign.

As described here last December, Ricks sent out a letter before May's primary that some people believe affected the results of the primary and caused the loss of one of the incumbent House representatives in our district. Ricks, as well as being the chair of the district, was also one of the primary challengers supported in the letter, which was sent out over the names of Republican precinct committeemen in the district. The letter -- which was identical regardless of the person who signed it -- noted that it was “gladly paid for” by the Ricks campaign. Ricks unsuccessfully ran against incumbent state Senator Russ Fulcher in the primary, losing by 149 votes.

"[T]he Idaho Republican Party has a long-standing policy of abstaining from endorsing candidates in the primary,” Semanko said in his September 17 letter. “Your actions caused some voters to believe the state party had taken the extraordinary step of rescinding this policy, which was not the case.”

According to an article on the lawsuit in the Idaho Statesman, Ricks seeks a jury trial and damages of more than $10,000, saying that Semanko exposed him to public contempt or ridicule by impugning his honesty, integrity or reputation. He also names the Idaho GOP State Central Committee as a defendant.

The lawsuit appears to center around a statement in Semanko's September letter to Ricks that the May letter from the Ricks campaign used the state GOP logo without authorization, saying it was trademarked. Ricks' lawsuit includes a certification by Idaho Secretary of State Ben Ysursa that the GOP logo is not trademarked in Idaho.

This also means, incidentally, that anyone else can apparently use the state GOP logo in any way they like.