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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP/NewsChannel 5) - A federal judge has refused to void the Tennessee Democratic primary for U.S. Senate won by an anti-gay candidate the party has disavowed. District Judge Kevin Sharp ruled that the lawsuit filed by losing candidate Larry Crim was improper because it was not filed against an individual. Crim sued the state Division of Elections and the Tennessee Democratic Party trying to keep the winner of the August 2 primary, Mark Clayton, off the November ballot. The day after the election, the state Democratic Party said it wanted nothing to do with Clayton. A statement disavowing...

NASHVILLE, Tenn.- The Democratic Party is vowing to fix the candidate review process that allowed Mark Clayton to become the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate. The promise came after one of the candidates who lost to Clayton promised to sue the party. Democrat Larry Crim, who finished fourth in last week's primary, says party leaders should have researched Mark Clayton and kept him off the ballot. "Mr. Forrester did not do his duty to screen this democratic candidate," Larry Crim said. Crim blames party chairman Chip Forrester for the embarrassing mess. A letter from state Coordinator of Elections, Mark Goins,...

Tenn. Democrat Party urges voters to vote against their own nominee - works for pro-life group NASHVILLE, August 7, 2012, (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Democratic Party of Tennessee is taking the unusual step of urging citizens to vote against its own nominee for U.S. Senate, because he works for a pro-life organization it deems a “hate group.” Mark Clayton won the party’s primary by a two-to-one margin over his next closest competitor, Gary Gene Davis. Former NBC Empty Nest star Park Overall came in third. Clayton has long been active with Public Advocate, a national pro-life, pro-family organization. “Mark Clayton is...

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A self-described homophobic Christian posed as a gay man for an entire year, even “coming out” to family and friends in the process, all to reform his beliefs. “[I wanted] to see if there was any justification in the fear I had,” Timothy Kurek, of Nashville, told MSNBC. Kurek, 26, who says his religious upbringing taught him that homosexuality was a sin, launched the experiment in January 2009 after a close female friend broke down in tears and admitted she was gay. “She had just come out to her family and been brutally disowned,” Kurek said. “She had been excommunicated...

Final unofficial returns from the state Division of Elections this morning indicate that seven incumbent Republicans and five incumbent Democrats lost bids for re-election in Thursday's primaries. Latest additions to the incumbent loser list are Rep. Jim Cobb, R-Spring City, defeated by insurance agent Ron Travis 4.357 votes to 4,252 , according to the final unofficial returns; and Rep. Mary Pruitt, D-Nashville, defeated by Harold Love Jr. by about 40 votes. Other defeated incumbent Republican legislators were House Republican Caucus Chairman Debra Maggart of Hendersonville, House Education Committee Chairman Richard Montgomery of Sevierville; and Reps. Dale Ford of Jonesborough, Julia...

A local group wants Nashville to focus on marketing to the gay and lesbian communities. Businesses like Tribe say marketing Nashville to the LGBT community could bring a lot of money into the city. Joey Amato of Outreach Public Relations said he got the Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau to help him with a press release promoting Nashville as a gay destination. According to Community Marketing, Inc., the LGBT community spends $65 million a year on tourism. Joey Amato says if he can help Nashville get a portion of that, it would be great for the city. "I fell in...

State Sen. Doug Overbey, a Maryville lawyer, has pocketed a passel of endorsements in the 2nd District Republican primary. Newspapers, the National Federation of Independent Business and the Tennessee Education Association endorsed Overbey, along with Republican heavyweights Gov. Bill Haslam and, a bit surprisingly, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, a tea party favorite. Given his opponent, Overbey needs all the help he can get. Scott Hughes, chief financial officer for a Knoxville church and former pro-life executive, is challenging Overbey at every turn, in every way. Though Overbey maintains an enormous financial advantage, Hughes has loquaciously roughed up Overbey in debates.

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Bob Corker, a Republican who serves on the Senate Banking Committee, has called for a hearing on the $2-billion trading loss by JPMorgan Chase & Co., saying that "policies are going to be derived out of what’s happened." Corker, who was a key participant in the debate over the 2010 financial reform law, said it was important for policymakers to get the facts about the situation and whether pending regulations would have prevented it.

Gannett Newspaper - Link Only: http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120803/NEWS02/308030124/Senate-nominee-Mark-Clayton-disavowed-by-Tennessee-Democratic-Party-?odyssey=nav|head

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Democratic Party is disavowing the winner of the party's nomination to challenge Republican Sen. Bob Corker in November, saying the little-known candidate belongs to an anti-gay hate group. The winner of the seven-candidate Democratic primary, 35-year-old Mark Clayton, reported raising no money and campaigned little but received more than 48,000 votes. . . .

Rescuers failed for a second day to save two rare dolphins in tsunami-hit Thailand Tuesday after a local official and environmentalists argued about how best to save the mammals swept inland by the giant waves. The dolphins -- a female adult and her calf -- were dumped in a 300 meter by 200 meter lake left by the wall of water that struck Thailand's Andaman Sea coastline on Dec. 26. Rescue teams, including a group of Greek divers, failed to catch the endangered Indo-Pacific Humpbacks Monday. When they returned early Tuesday, a group of local fishermen and volunteers, led by...