Kentucky Supreme Court: Louisville lawmaker disqualified from primary she just won
The Kentucky Supreme Court on Friday disqualified state Rep. Nima Kulkarni as a Democratic primary candidate less than three weeks after she won the primary.
A majority of justices issued the decision Friday, adding that a full ruling will come later. The order was issued one day after the court heard oral arguments from both sides.
Kulkarni, a Democratic immigration attorney from Louisville, won the May 21 primary for House District 40 and was seeking a fourth term.
Though the path forward is still unclear without a full ruling yet, Kulkarni’s side believes it’s likely that she’ll get another shot at re-election.
Kulkarni’s attorney, James Craig, told the Herald-Leader he anticipates the order will be “just a speed bump” on the way to Kulkarni getting sworn into office again. He mentioned the possibility of her winning her party’s nomination in a special election or party nomination process.
“Her head is high, and she thinks there’s still a path for her to be on the general election ballot even thought she was disqualified from the primary on a technical basis,” Craig said.
Dennis Horlander, a former state representative whom Kulkarni unseated in a 2018 primary, sued to remove Kulkarni from the ballot in March, claiming her candidacy was invalid because one of the required witnesses on her filing paperwork was a registered Republican when she signed the form.
Horlander’s attorney, Steven Megerle, sees things differently. He says because Kulkarni has been disqualified this cycle, she should not be a candidate in the general election to regain her seat.
“If Ms. Kulkarni does not honor and respect the decision of the Kentucky Supreme Court and the recently passed House Bill 580, we will vigorously do everything possible to prevent her from undermining the decision of the Kentucky Supreme Court,” Megerle said.
A week before the primary election last month, the Kentucky Court of Appeals unanimously sided with Horlander.
Kulkarni immediately appealed to Kentucky’s highest court, and justices quickly issued a two-page opinion that said the May 21 primary between Kulkarni and Democratic challenger William Zeitz could proceed as planned.
This story may be updated.
