High Rules John Rust Can Be Removed From GOP Primary Ballot

Source: WISH-TV / other

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Supreme Court says U.S. Senate candidate John Rust’s ability to be on the Republican Party primary ballot can be challenged.

That’s according to the high court’s latest ruling after hearing testimony earlier this week from both Rust’s lawyers and lawyers representing the state and the Jackson County Republican Party.

Rust, who is running for the U.S. Senate seat being given up by Sen. Mike Braun, is from Jackson County and had voted in the Democratic primary until 2016. After that year he switched to the Republican Party but did not vote in the 2020 primary citing the COVID-19 pandemic.

State law requires that in order to be a candidate on a political party’s primary ballot you have to have voted in that primary for at least two election cycles in a row. However, Rust challenged that law saying that it violated his constitutional rights.

A judge placed an injunction on that law in late 2023 saying that Rust had a case.

That case was then taken to the Indiana Supreme Court, which released its decision on Thursday saying that the state and the Jackson County GOP were in the right.

As of now, Rust is still on the ballot for the Republican primary. The high court simply ruled that Rust’s candidacy in the primary could be challenged and that it is now up to the State Secretary of State’s Office as well as the Jackson County GOP to remove him from the ballot.

Rust’s lawyers say all options are on the table from here on out, including possibly seeking relief from the U.S. Supreme Court.