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John Rust, who earlier this week was denied access to Indiana’s GOP primary ballot, is appealing the decision in a Marion County court, in hopes of continuing his run for U.S. Senate.
Rust’s petition for judicial review was filed in Marion Superior Court on Wednesday, one day after the Indiana Election Division voted unanimously to block his Republican candidacy.
The basis for the state panel’s decision was an Indiana party affiliation law that prohibits candidates from running whose last two primary votes don’t match the party they wish to represent.
The Seymour egg farmer’s two most recent primary votes were Republican in 2016 and Democrat in 2012 — meaning under the law he can’t appear on the Republican ballot for the 2024 May primary election. The law allows an exception, should the county’s party chair grant it. Jackson County Republican Party Chair Amanda Lowery elected not to do so in this case.
But in his appeal, Rust points to a December ruling from Marion County Superior Court Judge Patrick J. Dietrick, who found the two-primary requirement to be unconstitutional. Rust maintains the contested law was on hold “during the entirety of the candidacy filing period” and therefore should not preclude him from running.
And although the Indiana Supreme Court blocked the injunction earlier this month, Rust and his legal counsel argue that action came after the filing period, giving him “no opportunity to go back to Lowery and see if she would change her mind and certify him.”
“This process has shown me how far the establishment is willing to go to maintain control over our elections. At every turn, I’ve been challenged by party bosses who have already picked their insider candidate and are desperate to get him into the United States Senate. It’s this kind of gamesmanship that has eroded trust in our political system,” Rust said in a statement Thursday morning.”I’ll fight this all the way up to the United States Supreme Court because Hoosiers deserve a choice and they deserve a change.”
Additionally included in the appeal is an affidavit from LaPorte County Republican chair Allen Stevens, who testified that—had Rust established residency in LaPorte County—he would have certified his candidacy.
Indiana election commissioners said in their deliberations on Tuesday that Rust could have moved to a county with a “friendlier” party chair who would have signed off on his candidacy.
Rust’s court filing indicates that he has obtained a residence and bank account in LaPorte County.
Had the state law not been put on hold, he “could have and would have relocated to LaPorte County,” the petition said.
“The only reason Rust did not seek certification from Lowery or move and establish residency in LaPorte county is because the statute was not in effect during the candidacy filing period and thus, he did not have to obtain certification to be on the Republican primary ballot,” the filing continued.
Rust said the timing of the stay—after the candidate filing period—did not allow him time to relocate or seek certification elsewhere.
“Further, if Rust is Republican in LaPorte county, he is no less Republican in Jackson County,” the petition said.
Rust, running to succeed U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, wants to challenge Congressman Jim Banks for the GOP nomination in the May 2024 primary. He previously sued to gain access to the Republican ballot, saying the measure barred the vast majority of Hoosiers from running under their preferred party.
The state’s high court justices issued an order upholding the law establishing the two-primary requirement on Tuesday, but there still is no written ruling explaining the legal reasoning.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, not-for-profit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.
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