Robby Starbuck forced out of Tennessee Congressional race by state Supreme Court

Robert Starbuck has lost his struggle against the Republican Party in Tennessee.

Starbuck, a former candidate for Tennessee’s 5th congressional district, has been removed from the ballot following a decision from the state’s Supreme Court, vacating a lower court’s preliminary injunction.

Seeing no way to challenge the court’s findings or to fight the state’s GOP’s decision preventing him from running as a Republican, Starbuck believes his best chance for election is to run as a write-in candidate — something he intends to do.

"Unfortunately there’s not a higher court I can take it to. I can’t appeal this to the Supreme Court…the Republican party has contended that I’m not republican in their eyes," Starbuck told The Post Millennial. "The only real option is to run a write-in campaign."

When the Republican Party State Executive Committee concluded Starbuck did not meet the qualifications to run as a Republican candidate, Starbuck protested the decision. In a legal battle waged at the Davidson County Chancery Court, Starbuck contended his name had been improperly removed from consideration by way of a closed-door decision, running counter to the Tennessee Open Meetings Act or TOMA.

For a time, his efforts placed him back in the race as the Davidson County Court sided with Starbuck through an injunction.

But the Supreme Court forced him out of contention again when it ruled TOMA didn’t apply to the Republican Party State Executive Committee. The committee, the court said, wasn’t a "governing body" as defined by the law and was therefore exempt from its requirements.

Starbuck has developed a large following online, giving the would-be Republican large name-recognition in his state. He supports policies vocalized by many MAGA and American-first candidates, and cites transparency and openness as key reason why his campaign resonates with voters and sets him apart from other candidates.

In the midst of legal technicalities, Starbuck feels the state’s GOP Executive Committee doesn’t want him running — not because he hasn’t lived in the state long enough or because he hasn’t offered proof of a Republican voting record — but because there’s something else at play: a desire to control what kinds of candidates voters can pick from.

He even received an endorsement from US Kentucky Senator Rand Paul and thinks there's more to the story.

"Why don’t they want me to win? I don’t know the answer to that, I can only guess," Starbuck said.  

For now, Starbuck says he will focus his efforts on the general election, where he will face-off against nominees from both parties.

"I think that’s something that we’re highly likely to go do. I would be doing a disservice to walk away right now."