A Republican running for the Texas House has been declared ineligible after using the wrong candidate filing form, a move she claimed was politically motivated.
Zee Wilcox of Southlake was ruled ineligible to run in the House District 98 race after filing with a federal form instead of the required state paperwork.
The mom-of-three, who was one of three Republicans vying for the open seat, said she filled out her forms on December 8, the last day before the deadline.
She paid the $750 fee and had her paperwork notarized and accepted.
However, Wilcox was later notified by Tarrant County GOP Chair Tim Davis that her application did not meet legal requirements because she used a federal filing form instead of the required state version.
Davis, a lawyer elected chairman in November, emailed Wilcox directly to inform her that she was therefore ineligible to appear on the ballot.
'I've never done this before - my first time - but I assumed they'd tell me if the form was wrong when they accepted it,' Wilcox told the Star Telegram.
Emails reviewed by the Star-Telegram show Wilcox asked to correct the mistake but received no response, leading her to accuse Tarrant County Republicans of orchestrating her removal.
Wilcox, a mom-of-three and small business owner, has accused local GOP leaders of orchestrating her removal from the ballot.
Wilcox sent Davis a cease-and-desist letter accusing him of spreading false information about her candidacy.
Wilcox has since appealed the decision and contacted the Texas Secretary of State, which told her it lacks the authority to overturn a county party ruling.
She later sent Davis a cease-and-desist letter accusing him of spreading false or misleading information about her candidacy, a claim he dismissed as baseless.
'I have a hard time believing this is happening in this country,' she said. 'These elections are now selections. They're not elections, and I wasn't selected by them, so therefore I need to be forcibly removed.'
Davis rejected those claims, claiming the issue was straightforward and rooted in election law, not politics.
'Given the matter, I will keep the details to a minimum, but the issue is pretty simple.
'Mrs Wilcox filed for a state office using a federal form,' he said in a Facebook post.
'The forms are different, and the duty is on the candidate to ensure her filing complies with the law.'
Davis also claimed Wilcox was given adequate time to challenge the decision and that he met with a lawyer beforehand.
Texas' primary elections are scheduled for March 3, with the winners advancing to the November 3 general election ballot.
Tarrant County GOP Chair Tim Davis declared Wilcox ineligible for the primary, claiming her application failed to meet statutory requirements for a state House candidate.
Wilcox has appealed the decision and is weighing legal action as the March 3 primary approaches.
'Ms Wilcox had the opportunity to respond and she did,' Davis said. 'This was not the result of some fast conspiracy, despite whatever Mrs Wilcox wants to allege.'
'Instead, its the outcome of choices she made with her filing, The rule of law matters in the TCGOP, and we believe election integrity begins with the very first step in the process: when our candidates files for office.'
House District 98 is currently represented by Giovanni Capriglione, who is not seeking reelection.
The other candidates in the race are Armin Mizani, the mayor of Keller, and Fred Tate, a Colleyville businessman. Two Democrats are also running for the seat.
Texas' primary elections are scheduled for March 3, with the winners advancing to the November 3 general election ballot.