Tennessee files petition that would take Robby Starbuck off GOP primary ballot

The State of Tennessee filed a petition on Tuesday to appeal a lower court's decision that put Robby Starbuck back on the Republican primary ballot. 

Starbuck was placed back on the primary ballot last week after a county court ruled that the Tennessee Republican Party violated the Open Meetings Act by holding a closed-door meeting to kick him off of the ballot.

Signatories on the petition include Tennessee Republican officials such as Attorney General Herb Slatery.

"We've got a lot of establishment people still... in the Republican Party on the state level, and they fear America first candidates," Starbuck told "Just the News – Not Noise" on Tuesday.

Tennessee is requesting an expedited review of the petition due to the ballot printing deadline before the August 4 primary, The Tennessee Star reported.

Starbuck said "ultimately what we need" is to fight the Democrats.

He believes his perseverance in court shows how he will act in Congress.

"I think I've demonstrated with this case that I'll be the fighter that Tennessee deserves," Starbuck explained.

In the Tennessee filing, officials argued that the lower court's ruling was in violation of state law. They also said the candidacy declaration deadline has passed.

If the state's case fails, Starbuck, who received endorsements from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), faces a crowded primary against nine other candidates in Tennessee's 5th Congressional District.