Senate Candidate Sues Kentucky Democratic Party Over E-mail Supporting Alison Lundergan Grimes

Kentucky U.S. Senate candidate Ed Marskberry is suing the Kentucky Democratic Party for allegedly violating its own by-laws and favoring Alison Lundergan Grimes's candidacy.When Grimes announced earlier this month she was seeking the Democratic nomination to run against Republican Mitch McConnell the state party quickly sought donations.In a July 1 e-mail the KDP asked donors to help them build a grassroots effort to defeat McConnell and to "make sure Alison wins." The party's bylaws specifically forbid party officials from endorsing in a primary, however.Marksberry told WFPL earlier this month he was considering a lawsuit.But in an interview with The Washington Post, the Owensboro contractor confirmed he filed a suit in Franklin County Circuit Court on Monday."If I don’t get some respect, I’m going to pull out and run as an independent," Marksberry says. "They’ve picked on the wrong guy here."Marksberry is also threatening to run as an independent, which could put a dent in votes for Grimes given his more progressive leanings.FromWaPo: But if he were to run as an independent, he could potentially pull some votes from Democrats on the liberal end of the political spectrum and hurt Grimes’s campaign. (SNIP) Marksberry said it isn’t his intention to hurt Grimes, but that he’s tired of Kentucky Democrats acting like Republicans. “This has nothing to do with Alison Lundergan Grimes,” he said. “I love her, and I encouraged her to get in this race.”Louisville music promoter Bennie J. Smith and University of Louisville profess Greg Leithcy have also announced their intentions to run for the Democratic nomination.Leithcy told WFPL that party officials should apologize for the infraction, but he opposed any potential lawsuit.