Mallicote says he will not contest his 10-vote loss to Shipley

Tennessee 2nd House District GOP challenger Ben Mallicote has decided not to contest his 10-vote loss to Republican incumbent state Rep. Tony Shipley in the August Republican Primary.

In a statement e-mailed late Tuesday night, Mallicote told his supporters: "Thank you so much for the support you have offered in the wake of the election. A great many of you have urged me to demand a recount; because I respect your opinions and appreciate your support so deeply, I want to explain why I will not do so.

"In a primary race in Tennessee, a candidate does not have the right to demand a recount. By law, our campaign’s sole recourse would be to file a contest with the Executive Committee of the Tennessee Republican Party. As it has been explained to me, the campaign is responsible for bearing the costs of the contest, which can range into the thousands of dollars. The Executive Committee has broad discretion to decide the contest as it sees fit, and a number of Executive Committee members openly supported my opponent during the campaign. Therefore, it only makes sense to file a contest if we have overwhelming proof of some irregularity in the voting. Our likelihood of success otherwise is realistically zero.

"As you may know, our campaign received the most votes in both early voting and on Election Day; it was from the 127 absentee ballots that my opponent gained his margin of victory. My campaign has now completed its due diligence with respect to the list of absentee voters, and has reached a conclusion: We cannot make a case strong enough to compel the State Executive Committee to reverse the outcome of this election. That being the case, it does not make sense to spend the time, energy and money to pursue a contest.

"I hope you will understand this decision, and know how deeply disappointed I am that I was not able to turn your hard work into a successful result. I would ask that you continue to hold all of our elected leaders up in prayer, and remain engaged in the political process. It is, after all, your government."

The election results were certified Tuesday by the Sullivan County Election Commission.

Unofficial results showed Shipley with an 11-vote victory. The certified vote count showed Shipley with 3,405 votes compared to Mallicote's 3,395 votes.

Shipley, who is seeking a third term, will face Democrat Bruce Dotson in the November general election.