GOP candidate sues primary opponent in 2nd Congressional district

The primary battle over who will get to replace Rep. Pete Hoekstra in Congress from Michigan’s 2nd Congressional district is really heating up. One candidate for the position, Bill Cooper, has filed a defamation suit against fellow Republican Jay Riemersma over statements allegedly made by campaign staffers canvassing on his behalf. The Grand Rapids press reports:

He alleges one of Riemersma’s campaign volunteers knowingly spread false statements about Cooper while campaigning last month. Both men are vying for the Republican nomination for Michigan’s 2nd Congressional District.

The suit names Riemersma, his campaign, and volunteer Vincent Bush.

“I had numerous people calling me and telling me what Jay and his campaign staff were saying, and I had had enough. I had to do something,” Cooper said Tuesday. “We did what we thought we had to do to make sure they were truthful.”

Cooper says his lawsuit targets claims Riemersma’s campaign allegedly made regarding Cooper’s financial practices — specifically, that a business Cooper owned was foreclosed upon due to unpaid property taxes. Cooper claims Riemersma hired people to investigate Cooper’s business background, and although he had paid some taxes late, that money was accounted for well before any checks would have been done.

“He was saying I had a business that was foreclosed upon when they did a record search of my property,” Cooper said. “It was the equivalent of returning a library book late. I had specific reasons for paying taxes late. They knew I was paid current.”

Cooper also disputes statements from the Riemersma campaign calling him a carpetbagger because he spends a lot of time in Arizona, where he owns a business. He told the Press that while he does go to Arizona for a month or two at a time, Michigan has always been his primary residence.

This suit has very little chance of winning. The courts are extremely reluctant to involve themselves in elections, where false claims about rival politicians are the rule rather than the exception.