Tarrant County candidate withdraws a day after forgery allegation

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A Tarrant County official says he is ending his re-election bid a day after his opponent alleged signatures on his petition to be a candidate were forged.

Fort Worth-based KXAS-TV reports that the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department has launched a forgery investigation into the signatures on Justice of the Peace Russ Casey’s candidate petition.

Casey said Wednesday he was withdrawing because he believes the county’s Republican Party chairman is against his re-election and the election wouldn’t be conducted fairly.

The party had previously distanced itself from Casey after he settled a 2015 sexual harassment lawsuit from one of his former clerks. Casey was reprimanded by the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct.

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Opponent Lenny Lopez, who raised the forgery concerns, says he hopes Casey’s name will be removed from the ballot.