This drama had a rather predictable ending. The Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas has dismissed Tarrant County state Sen. Kim Brimer's complaint against his challenger, Wendy Davis, foiling his campaign's long-running bid to disqualify her candidacy.

In a statement Davis said, "I am very pleased with the Court's decision today, and I look forward to continuing my conversation with Tarrant County families about the issues they are facing."

It's not clear what Brimer can do now other than, well, run a campaign. Up until now the rather lazy candidate has sought to defeat Davis in court, rather than at the ballot box, often going to great lengths to avoid even mentioning her by name. In July, Brimer filed a lawsuit against Davis, a former four-term city councilmember, claiming she had not resigned from her seat in time to legally file for the District 10 state Senate seat. The judge rejected Brimer's complaint, but he quickly appealed, eliciting snickers throughout Texas that Davis, a young Harvard law grad with a loyal base of supporters, scared him stiff.

The appeals court decision couldn't have surprised anyone. Right from the beginning of the hearing last Thursday, the three-judge panel peppered Brimer's attorney, Nick Acuff, with a series of critical questions. The court seemed concerned that they were being asked to disqualify a candidate after the the deadline to remove her from the ballot had passed.

Such a decision would have resulted in chaos, particularly if Davis won after a court had decided she was not an eligible candidate.

Davis filed to run for the District 10 seat in January after her successor on the city council, Joel Burns, was sworn in during a private ceremony a day earlier. Ever since, rounds of costly litigation have centered around one theme: That private ceremony was a sham event, conceived solely for the purpose of freeing up Davis to run for state Senate. In Texas, you cannot hold a lucrative office -- in this case, city council -- while mounting a campaign for the state legislature.

Shortly after Davis made her candidacy formal, three members of the Fort Worth Firefighters Association filed a lawsuit against her, but a judge rejected it, claiming the plaintiffs didn't have standing. That complaint marked the early beginning of the heated, if somewhat veiled, campaign season. Both the firefighters union and Brimer share the same political consultant: the ubiquitous Bryan Eppstein.