Judge grants temporary injunctions to block recognition of new political parties

The Nebraska Republican Party sued to block one last week, followed by the Nebraska Democratic Party on Monday. 

In separate court filings, attorneys for both say the new political parties — the America First Party, which is targeted by the GOP, and the Nebraska Working People Party, targeted by the Democrats — are aimed at misleading voters and perhaps play spoiler. 

Lancaster County District Judge Darla Ideus, who was assigned to hear both of the cases, set a joint hearing Wednesday to consider both and issued temporary injunctions set to expire Aug. 20, without a further order from her. 

Attorneys in both cases argued to allow Evnen's office to accept and certify candidates for either would cause irreparable injury, leading to the judge's orders Monday afternoon. 

Attorney and former state Senator Andrew La Grone, who is representing the Nebraska Republican Party, said the person behind the "America First Party," is not seeking to establish a legitimate political party. 

"It is political sabotage—a calculated effort to maliciously confuse voters by hijacking a nationally recognized brand inextricably linked to President Donald J. Trump and the conservative movement he leads," he told the judge. 

La Grone called John Cartier, who filed the paperwork to create the party, a well-known leftist political operative with "leftist political beliefs."

"He dressed it up with conservative talking points: cracking down on illegal immigration, defending the Second Amendment, opposing abortion. However, the facade crumbles under the slightest scrutiny," the attorney said. 

The Nebraska Democratic Party leveled similar allegations in a suit filed Monday against former Democratic legislative candidate and current Ralston school board member Robin Richards and the Nebraska Working People Party. 

Attorney Robert Futhey said the Working People Party, or WPP, is not a bona fide political party.

"Rather, it reflects the efforts of a sore loser former candidate — Robin Richards — who has serially sought and failed to obtain the NDP’s nomination for the state legislature," he said. 

Futhey said Richards now is seeking to sabotage the party's candidates across the state "by propping up a fake political party intended to mislead NDP’s members and supporters and to detract votes from its preferred candidates."

To make matters worse, he said, its name also is designed to give the false impression it is aligned with the Working Families Party, a progressive political party based in New York with affiliates across the country that intentionally avoids acting as a "spoiler" in political races.

That national party joined in the lawsuit, alleging its name is being infringed.

Last week, Evnen announced that both the new America First Party and Nebraska Working People Party had gathered enough voter signatures to take the next steps toward official recognition.

To finalize things, the parties must submit a party constitution, bylaws and a list of officers within 20 days. Both have until Sept. 1 to pick candidates using signatures from 25 party members in the district of the office being sought.

The legal challenges follow political allegations that both of the new parties appear to be aimed at peeling off enough partisans to swing a close election — Nebraska's U.S. Senate race between Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts and registered nonpartisan Dan Osborn.

In previous statements, the Working People Party has argued that it is not interested in playing spoiler but rather in giving people more choices than the Democratic Party, which it argues has stepped too far from labor toward progressives.

The Nebraska GOP similarly argued that organizers behind the America First Party included former Democrats trying to help Osborn, a former Omaha labor leader running against Ricketts, a former two-term governor.

The parties themselves, in recent statements, said they have not picked which races, if any, to join this fall.

Omaha World-Herald Managing Editor Aaron Sanderford contributed to this report.