Tech entrepreneur Jonathan Jenkins sought a place on the November ballot as an independent US Senate candidate, but failed to obtain all of the needed 47,000 required signatures. Now, he tells the Texas Tribune that he suspects the campaign of incumbent GOP candidate Ted Cruz of "interference," and says the California firm he hired to collect the signatures - and came up short - misled him about the progress of the effort.
Jenkins alleged that that associates of Cruz meddled in the effort to keep Jenkins off the ballot, offering petition takers up to $1,000 to leave Texas, acts reported to Jenkins by the California firm, Arno Petition Consultants. Meanwhile, he paid over $350,000 to the firm, but it only returned 35,500 signatures by June 21st, the deadline for submitting petitions.
Jenkins says the firm misled him about the progress of the petition drive, and is now seeking legal action against it and its principal, Michael Arno.
He is asking the secretary of state's office to investigate the allegations against the Cruz campaign and refer the matter to the state attorney general. Jenkins has said he plans to look into "all other legal remedies" available.
Jenkins has started several technology companies, most recently founding and leading WithMe, a company with the mission to create the largest global network of short-term physical retail stores to help brands of all sizes grow.
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