Two Pennsylvania men won’t get a chance to challenge the legality of Vermont Senator James Jeffords’s decision to switch political parties.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday without comment upheld a lower court decision that found that Michael Hahalyak and John Hoffman could not show they had been hurt by Jeffords’ decision to leave the Republican Party. Jeffords’ May 2001 decision handed control of the Senate from the Republicans to the Democrats.
Hahalyak and Hoffman had asked the court to order Jeffords to return to the GOP because they would be adversely affected by the policies enacted by the Democrats.