7th District candidate says he has asked site to correct information
By Jeff Keeling
10:01 a.m. State House Republican candidate Phil Carriger says his bid for the 7th District seat is still alive and well despite a Wikipedia-like website for politics, “Ballotpedia,” reporting that his name was removed from the candidate list.
Phil Carriger.
The page is the top hit when searching Google under the name “Phil Carriger.” The first section on the page at ballotpedia.org/Phil_Carriger reads: “Phil Carriger was a 2014 Republican candidate for District 7 of the Tennessee House of Representatives. He was removed from the candidate list before the primary.”
Carriger said the information is false. “Was I removed? No,” Carriger said shortly after 9 a.m. today. He said he was informed of the site Wednesday night.
“I sent an email last night to the editor of Ballotpedia,” Carriger said. “I informed that person that the information was false, that I was still on the ballot. I have not heard back from them.”
Carriger said he expects the Ballotpedia site to correct or remove the posting. He said he also asked the Ballotpedia editor what the source of the false information was. “Wiki” websites allow public editing under certain circumstances.
“It made me think of Richard Nixon,” Carriger said. “Dirty tricks.”
The state Republican primary is Aug. 7. Carriger faces incumbent Matthew Hill and an additional challenger, Todd Mitchell Franklin. As of 9:45 a.m. Thursday, the Ballotpedia pages of both Hill and Franklin also reference Carriger’s alleged removal from the candidate list.
