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By Marilyn Odendahl
The Indiana Citizen
February 16, 2024
Within hours of the Indiana Supreme Court issuing a stay that allows the Indiana Republican Party to keep egg farmer John Rust off the 2024 primary ballot, Rust filed a motion asking the justices for relief from their order so he can run in the May election.
Already his candidacy is facing six challenges before the Indiana Election Commission.
In his verified motion for relief from the stay, Rust asked for relief pending the Supreme Court’s opinion and argued that if the stay remains in place, he will be harmed and the public interest will not be served. The motion was filed at 10:27 p.m. on Feb. 15, a little more than nine hours after the published order, signed by Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush, was issued.
Rust, who announced his candidacy in July 2023 for the U.S. Senate seat, which is being vacated by Sen. Mike Braun so he can run for governor, is fighting for a place on the Republican ballot in the May primary. After Rust entered the race, U.S. Rep. Jim Banks, R-Indiana, who is also running for the Senate seat and has been endorsed by the Indiana GOP, challenged his eligibility.
To appear on a primary ballot, Indiana Code section 3-8-2-7(a)(4) requires candidates to establish their party affiliation by showing they voted on that party’s ballot in the two most recent primary elections in which they participated. However, in their brief to the Indiana Supreme Court, the defendants – the Indiana Secretary of State, the Indiana Election Commission and the Jackson County Republican Party chair – noted that in the last two primaries in which Rust took part, he voted Republican in the 2016 primary and Democratic in the 2012 primary.
Consequently, the Republican Party chair in Jackson County, Rust’s home county, barred the egg farmer from the GOP primary.
In his verified motion, Rust pointed out he is facing a time crunch. The Supreme Court issued its order about 23 hours before the deadline for filing challenges to a candidacy, he said, and he expects his opponent to file a challenge, adding “such (a) challenge will likely be sustained given this Court’s order.” As a result, Rust said he likely will be removed from the ballot and, even if his candidacy gets a reprieve from the court, the ballot will probably already be printed without his name.
Moreover, Rust said in his motion that in the event of an adverse ruling from the Indiana Supreme Court, he will not have time to seek a review from the U.S. Supreme Court and still appear on the Republican ballot for the May 2024 primary.
“It’s not clear how the State Defendants will be harmed by Rust appearing on the ballot. They would have to run a primary election,” Rust’s motion said, adding state law requires a primary be held. “Two candidates instead of one does not create any sort of meaningful voter confusion.”
The agenda for the Indiana Election Commission’s Feb. 27 meeting shows six challenges have been filed against Rust’s candidacy and one against Bank’s candidacy. Under Indiana Code section 3-8-8, the commission must make a determination on the matter no later than one day after the conclusion of the hearing. The candidate or the challenger may appeal the commission’s ruling to the Court of Appeals of Indiana.
According to his brief filed with the Indiana Supreme Court prior to oral arguments, Rust said he met with Amanda Lowery, Jackson County GOP chair, to request that she certify his membership in the Republican Party. Rust said he told the party chairwoman that he has “major concerns” about the current national Democratic leadership and wants to return to “traditional Republican values.” Also, he said he wanted to bring “a common-sense ‘farmer’ approach to the problems facing our country.”
However, Rust said in his brief that Lowery was doubtful of him because of his record of voting in past Democratic primaries. He said the chairwoman told him she would not certify him or any Republican candidate that had not voted in the two primaries as required by statute.
Rust sued and the Marion County Superior Court found in his favor in December 2023. Judge Patrick Dietrick blocked the defendants from enforcing the state’s primary statute, ruling it violated the U.S. Constitution and the Indiana Constitution.
The defendants appealed and the Indiana Supreme Court heard oral arguments Feb. 12. The Supreme Court’s published order did not offer any reasoning for its decision, only stating “a majority” of the justices voted to stay the trial court’s order.
In his verified motion, Rust also argued that keeping the stay in place would disenfranchise the “thousands of voters” who want to vote for him. He claimed he collected more than 11,000 verified signatures to appear on the ballot, which is more than double the 4,500 signatures required.
Rust highlighted what he sees as unequal treatment he is receiving, compared to a particular higher-profile Republican candidate for national office. In his motion, Rust said Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales “tacitly acknowledges” that he is working to “protect Indiana voters’ rights to vote for presidential candidate Donald Trump,” even as other states seek to remove the former president from the 2024 ballot. However, his motion said, the Jackson County Republican Party chair is meanwhile able to “tell other Indiana counties that John Rust cannot be on the ballot.”
“There is no reconciling this disparity,” Rust said in his motion. “And, at a time when the general American public, particularly Hoosiers, feel that the system is rigged and their vote just does not matter, the public interest is in having choices on the ballot, not being force-fed a candidate by the state’s dominant political party.”
Dwight Adams, a freelance editor and writer based in Indianapolis, edited this article. He is a former content editor, copy editor and digital producer at The Indianapolis Star and IndyStar.com, and worked as a planner for other newspapers, including the Louisville Courier Journal.
