Upshur County Republican Party Chairman Ken Ambrose predicted Tuesday that a challenge to the credentials of his delegation to the state Republican convention will "be tossed out" by the convention's Credentials Committee.

An Upshur GOP precinct chairman, Cynthia Ridgeway,.has challenged the credentials of Ambrose's delegation. She heads a rival delegation to the convention from Upshur County. She is also among Ambrose's two opponents in his bid for reelection as county GOP chairman in Tuesday's Republican primary.

As reported in Wednesday's Mirror, Mrs. Ridgeway said the state GOP's Officials Committee has referred her complaint to the Credentials Committee.

She said that the Officials Committee determined that the challenge she brought met the procedural requirements to be referred to the other committee.

Two warring segments of the Upshur GOP held separate county conventions April 21, with Mrs. Ridgeway presiding over one and Ambrose over the other. Each convention elected a delegation to the state convention.

Mrs. Ridgeway challenged the state delegation elected at Ambrose's gathering—which, ironically, included her—on grounds that the convention he called did not comply with the Texas Election Code nor state GOP rules.

The party's state convention is June 7-9 in Ft. Worth. Mrs. Ridgeway, who is recognized by several precinct chairmen (but not Ambrose) as the Upshur GOP's vice-chairman, said she would head the delegation elected from her April 21 county convention if that delegation is seated.

But Ambrose predicted Mrs. Ridgeway's complaint will "be tossed out" by the Credentials Committee, calling that a "fait accompli."

For the Credentials Committee "to even look" at her complaint, he said, Mrs. Ridgeway would "have to have attended the convention (presided over by Ambrose) to make a challenge." Since she didn't, he said, she has no right to challenge his delegation.

"It (the challenge) will be set aside on that alone, and the rest of it is just nonsense," Ambrose maintained. "They (Mrs. Ridgeway and her allies) are just clawing for something, but I don't know what it is."

He said the Officials Committee "eliminated the majority of her challenge" since most of it was overridden by a federal court order dealing with the May 29 primary election.

That committee handled the complaint "to see if there was any technical merit whatsoever in it," and decided "it would be simpler to pass it on to the Credentials Committee," Ambrose said.

Besides Mrs. Ridgeway, Ambrose also faces Chuck Mears in Tuesday's election for county GOP chairman.