West Virginia: Former Democratic Party chairman challenges candidate financing program

A former Democratic Party chairman filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block the distribution of matching funds under the pilot public financing program to a Republican supreme court candidate. Candidate Allen Loughry, who is the only one of four high court candidates to accept public funding and who is eligible to receive nearly $150,000 in “rescue” funds, filed a response to the suit. Loughry’s suit seeks to force the state election commission to provide his campaign with the additional funding. Following Loughry’s filing, the commission voted in an emergency meeting to defend the matching funds provision of the program.