A Thurston County Superior Court has rejected a lawsuit filed by the Libertarian Party of Washington State seeking to declare Mitt Romney ineligible to appear on the state ballot.

The Libertarians had argued that under existing statute the Republican Party lost its "major party" status by failing to nominate a candidate for the US Senate race in 2010. Judge Thomas McPhee accepted the Secretary of State's argument that the statute in question is no longer applicable even though it remains on the books.

Like I've repeatedly stated, I've never expected the courts to kick Romney off the ballot, but the RCW says what the RCW says.

I've got a call in to Libertarian attorney J. Mills; no word yet on whether they plan to appeal.