IN-Sen: Wealthy egg farmer John Rust's uphill campaign for the GOP nod got a new lease on life Thursday when a state judge blocked a law that would have prevented him from appearing on the May primary ballot. The secretary of state's office did not immediately say if it would appeal the decision. Rep. Jim Banks, who is the frontrunner to claim the nod, himself snarked, "If Democrat John Rust gets his name on the ballot, then I look forward to comparing his liberal background and criminal price-gouging scheme with my conservative record."
The law in question only allows candidates to run with the party they belong to, and the easiest way for Hoosiers to establish party affiliation is to cast their two most recent primary votes in that side's nomination contests. (There is no party registration in Indiana.) But while Rust most recently participated in the 2016 GOP primary, his prior vote was in the 2012 Democratic race. Candidates can get an exemption if their local party chair certifies that they belong to the party, but Jackson County party head Amanda Lowery said in August she wouldn't do this.
"It’s clear to me that this law is in place to protect the power and control that political parties have over elected offices," Rust said when he filed his lawsuit in September, and Judge Patrick Dietrick agreed with him. He wrote the law "protects incumbents and other party insiders, and disqualifies candidates like Rust, who are constitutionally qualified to run but precluded due to the statute."
Rust's legal victory came weeks after his family business suffered a huge court loss in a different matter. A federal jury determined just before Thanksgiving that Rose Acre Farms and two other companies were liable for price-fixing, and it soon ordered them to pay $17.7 million in damages. Rust, who chaired Ross' board until September, said the decision "will be appealed."