Costume complaints spice up Senate battle

photo From left, Democratic Senate candidate Gordon Ball, the Chicken and former U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis share a moment before Ball kicked off a "No Show Lamar" bus tour.
photo Gordon Ball and Lamar Alexander are seen in this composite photo.

NASHVILLE - In a Halloween news release, state Republicans say Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Gordon Ball has egg on his face after raffling off chances to don a chicken suit on the campaign trail.

In turn, Ball accuses Republican opponent Lamar Alexander of playing dress-up rather than actually acting to solve problems.

The Tennessee Republican Party said Friday it is filing a complaint against Ball with the Tennessee Secretary of State's Division of Charitable Solicitations and Gambling, alleging that his campaign conducted an unauthorized raffle.

State party Chairman Chris Devaney said in a news release that the Ball campaign sent fundraising emails saying that people who donated $5 to $20 could get their names entered into a drawing to wear a chicken costume.

Ball has campaigned with a costumed aide to underline his point that Alexander is "chicken" to debate him.

The state GOP's point is that only IRS-certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit groups can get state permission to hold raffles offering prizes of value.

"Once again, Gordon Ball is trying to skirt the rules the rest of us abide by - first it was by failing to pay tens of thousands of dollars in fees and taxes, and now it's with this illegal raffle," Devaney charged. The party earlier said Ball owed $46,000 on property he owned. Ball said it is unpaid maintenance fees for a vacant lot and that he'll pay them when he sells the lot.

Meanwhile, the Ball campaign chastised Alexander for wearing a "white doctor's coat" while helping block appointment of a U.S. surgeon general and traveling around the state and holding Ebola virus "summits."

Alexander held such a summit Friday at CHI Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga along with U.S. Sen. Bob Corker.

A Ball campaign news release said, "it's time to unmask the Career Politician."

"Lamar Alexander threw roadblocks up during hearings in Congress with his colleagues to hinder the appointment of a surgeon general for partisan politics. I know he likes to wear costumes, but this isn't helping anyone. We don't have a surgeon general," Ball said in the release.

He also accused Alexander of failing to "show up at important votes that would have changed the direction for working Tennesseans."

Alexander spokesman Brian Reisinger responded by email.

"Mr. Ball should read his civics textbook one more time. We do have an acting surgeon general, a distinguished public health official considerably more competent than Dr. Murthy, the inexperienced political operative President Obama nominated. The only reason Dr. Murthy hasn't been confirmed is because Harry Reid hasn't moved his nomination to the Senate floor, apparently because there aren't even enough Democratic votes to confirm him."

The election is Tuesday.

Contact staff writer Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550.

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