Tuesday’s end of the business day was the party’s deadline to propose a name after the primary candidate withdrew. No substitute form has been filed with the Nebraska secretary of state’s office.

Mark Elworth Jr., the party chairman, said Tuesday that the group decided not to field candidates because supporters of Osborn and Kerry Eddy, a former candidate, threatened to sue.

“We don’t want to get involved in this,” Elworth said. “We’re not fundraising. We have every right to put out a candidate. We think Dan Osborn is dishonest.”

The party was considering endorsing Ed Williams after Eddy, who won the party’s nomination in May, followed through on her promise to drop out of the race and endorse Osborn if she felt she could win.

Some party members knew Williams from his work collecting signatures for medicinal marijuana referendum initiatives.

Questions about party involvement

Some long-time members of the Legal Marijuana Now party argued that Eddy and a group of Osborn supporters had seized power in their party to secure votes for him against Fischer.

Fewer names on the ballot mean a consolidation of protest votes against incumbent candidates, giving their opponents a better chance of winning more votes.

Eddy has she denied that she was running for this reason. But during the primary, she wrote online that she might give up her seat to Osborn. She cited July polls as the reason for her resignation.

Dustin Wahl, a spokesman for Osborn’s campaign, said the campaign made no threats. He said the person who advised the party it could not field another candidate was Eddy’s campaign treasurer.

Focus on the letter

In a letter Elworth shared with the Examiner, Eddy’s party treasurer, John Cartier, argued that the party had made a mistake at its August 14 convention at which Eddy’s replacement was considered.

He wrote that the party illegally kicked out 19 people who voted against adding a new candidate. Elworth said the party has adopted a rule that does not allow Osborn and Eddy supporters to attend the convention, sharing a party Facebook post from before the convention as evidence.

Cartier wrote that the party or its members could face a lawsuit and possible prosecution for potential voter fraud if they replace Eddy on the ballot. In a phone interview, Cartier said he was not threatening the group.

“Due to the failure to receive the required number of votes and the illegal expulsion of many party members … the motion to replace Kerry Eddy with Mr. Williams would be invalid,” Cartier wrote.

The party’s decision leaves only Fischer and Osborn on the ballot, as the Nebraska Democratic Party also decided not to field an independent candidate.

Fischer criticized Osborn during an interview Tuesday for “playing games” with the Legal Marijuana Now Party and the Democratic Party.

Elworth wrote in a follow-up message that he was so angry at Osborn and his supporters for what had happened to his party that he intended to vote for Fischer, who opposes the legalization of marijuana.

The first page of a letter John Cartier sent to the leaders of the Legal Marijuana Now Party. (Courtesy of Mark Elworth Jr.)

The second page of a letter John Cartier sent to the leaders of the Legal Marijuana Now Party. (Courtesy of Mark Elworth)

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