Indiana Election Commission, state high court rule against John Rust, removing him from ballot

U.S. Senate hopeful John Rust will be kept off the GOP primary ballot in May, while former president Donald Trump has secured his spot against Republican challenger Nikki Haley.

The Indiana Election Commission made the ballot decisions during a long Tuesday meeting in Indianapolis.

The state panel—split with two Republicans and two Democrats—voted 3-1 to keep Trump on the ballot. They were unanimous in their decision against Rust.

Six challenges to the Seymour egg farmer’s candidacy were filed earlier this month by Hoosiers in Monroe, Harrison, Marion, Whitley and Hamilton counties. They pointed to Indiana law that prohibits candidates from running whose last two primary votes don’t match the party they wish to represent.

Rust’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.

“It’s obviously very disappointing,” Rust said after the decision, adding that he thinks the Indiana Republican Party “is trying to keep me off the ballot because I’m not under their control.”

The election commission disagreed, maintaining that Rust created his own predicament. Commissioners said he could have voted in one of several GOP primaries since 2016 or moved to a county with a “friendlier” party chair who would have signed off on his candidacy.

“(Rust) could have done all kinds of things … he could have played by the rules,” said Commissioner Suzannah Wilson Overholt, a Democrat. “If you want to run as a candidate in this state, there are rules you have to follow.”

Rust vows to appeal

The challenges against Rust were lodged earlier this month, just hours after the Indiana Supreme Court stayed a lower court ruling that would have stopped election officials from using the contested primary law to remove Rust from the Republican ballot for U.S. Senate.

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 sued to gain access to the Republican ballot, saying the measure barred the vast majority of Hoosiers from running under their preferred party.

Rust’s attorney, Michelle Harter, argued before the commission that his case challenging constitutionality of the two-primary requirement is still pending before the Indiana Supreme Court.

Rust said Tuesday he will appeal the election commission’s decision to the Marion County Superior Court

He said, too, that he plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, pending a complete ruling from the Indiana Supreme Court.

“During the entire filing time, the law was not in effect. So, I’m confident that I will be back on the ballot on that fact. The stay was not issued until after the filing deadline,” Rust said.

Banks has already earned an endorsement from the Indiana Republican Party for his Senate bid—marking the first time in recent history that the state party has made an endorsement before primary elections for an open seat.

With Rust out, Banks will be the only GOP candidate on the primary ballot.

Trump, Biden remain on Indiana ballot

Meanwhile, a challenge against sitting President Joe Biden, a Democrat, was quickly dismissed by the commission after Seventh Congressional District GOP candidate Gabriel Whitley—who alleged Biden didn’t meet signature requirements—did not appear at the public meeting.

An unofficial report from the Indiana Election Division showed Biden turned in hundreds more signatures per congressional district than needed.

Trump, the leading Republican presidential candidate, also prevailed in a challenge from Benjamin Kester of Monroe County. Kester argued Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution—which bars insurrectionists from holding certain offices—should keep Trump off the ballot.

Before arguments were made, Trump’s attorneys unsuccessfully argued that the commission lacked jurisdiction to hear the challenge.

They further attempted to disqualify Commissioner Karen Celestino-Horseman, a Democrat, for “bias and prejudice,” pointing to a December column she wrote for the Indianapolis Business Journal about Trump’s actions during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. The motion to eliminate Celestino-Horseman failed in a 2-2 vote.

During the commissioners’ discussion, Celestino-Horseman said the decision over whether to permit Trump on the ballot is “a terrible one” to make, “a battle” between “heart” and “legal mind.” She said Trump fomented distrust with false claims of election fraud, and that on Jan. 6, 2021, he issued a call to action and told his supporters to march to the Capitol.

Celestino-Horseman added that the former president watched the violence happening on TV and took no action for hours. In support of the U.S. and Indiana constitutions, she said she was against denying the challenge.

“That constitutes insurrection as far as I’m concerned,” Celestino-Horseman said. She was the only commissioner to vote in favor of the challenge.

Overholt said, however, that while she doesn’t approve of Trump’s actions on Jan. 6, her reading of Indiana law does not support Kester’s challenge.

Republican Commission Chairman Paul Okeson additionally said it’s up to Hoosiers to decide who is president.

“I find nothing sufficient in what’s been offered today,” he said.

Democrat gubernatorial candidate Tamie Dixon-Tatum also faced a signature challenge, which alleged she turned in only 1,896 of the required 4,500 verified signatures needed.

Dixon-Tatum conceded she didn’t submit enough signatures but tried to appeal to the commissioners’ emotions, saying she has a job and doesn’t have party backing. She argued, too, that Indiana law treats people disparately and keeps incumbents in place.

“We did the best that we could under the circumstances,” she told the commission, adding that she only had a small team of volunteers helping her with signatures. “I had to do triple, quadruple the amount of work.”

Even so, Celestino-Horseman said the challenge did not amount to an issue of discrimination and emphasized that—even for candidates with little cash—“it’s a very simple requirement to get the signatures.” The commission voted unanimously in favor of the challenge.

With Dixon-Tatum off the ballot, Jennifer McCormick will be unopposed in the May Democrat primary for governor.