Top Ky election official: Parties to choose nominees after Kulkarni disqualification

Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams declared a vacancy in the state House Democratic primary in which a Louisville incumbent was disqualified, meaning both local parties will now choose a general election nominee for this fall.

“I intend to permit the Democratic and Republican Parties to nominate candidates for this office, and give the people a choice,” Adams said.

State and local election officials had been uncertain about who would be the Democratic nominee in the House District 40 race since June, when the Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed an appeals court ruling that state Rep. Nima Kulkarni was disqualified as a primary candidate due to a filing error.

Kulkarni defeated William Zeitz, her only opponent in the primary, by a blowout margin in May, but the high court’s subsequent disqualification of Kulkarni did not specify if Zeitz would be the nominee or if a vacancy should be declared.

In a statement to Kentucky Public Radio, Adams cited the full Supreme Court opinion released Thursday to say there is a vacancy and both parties should choose their nominees.

“Today, in Kulkarni v. Horlander, the Supreme Court of Kentucky stated, ‘the effect of the disqualification of a candidate subsequent to the election is that no election has occurred and the true and legitimate will of the people has not yet been expressed,’” Adams said. “I take this as a directive to me to certify that a vacancy exists in the nomination for state representative in the 40th District.”

James Craig, the attorney for Kulkarni, praised Adams’ “swift work” in responding to the new Supreme Court ruling, “which the voters of District 40 deserved.”

“Notwithstanding today’s decision, Rep. Kulkarni remains eligible to seek her party’s nomination after the declaration of a vacancy, and she intends to seek the nomination,” Craig said.

A spokesperson for Adams says the secretary agrees that Kulkarni would be eligible as a general election nominee if chosen by the local Democratic Party.

Kulkarni was disqualified for having a registered Republican as one of the signatories to her candidate filing in January, making her ineligible for the Democratic primary.

A legal roller coaster ensued after a petition was filed in March by former state Rep. Dennis Horlander to disqualify her. Horlander had served the same Louisville district as a Democrat for more than two decades, before he was defeated in the 2018 primary by Kulkarni, who defeated him again in 2020.

A Jefferson Circuit judge denied Horlander’s petition in April, but this was reversed by a unanimous Kentucky Court of Appeals ruling a week before the May election, which disqualified Kulkarni.

The Kentucky Supreme Court then stepped in the day before the primary election to stay the appeals court ruling, allowing Kulkarni to face off against Zeitz in the primary while the high court considered if she should be eligible.

Kulkarni won 78% of the vote in the primary, with Zeitz receiving just 22%. Zeitz, a truck driver, did not actively campaign for the office and did not respond to questions from reporters during or after the May primary.

The Supreme Court in June sided with the appeals court ruling that Kulkarni was disqualified, but did not release a full opinion and did not spell out a remedy for how to determine who would be on the general election ballot.

Five of the seven justices concurred with the formal majority opinion of the court released Thursday, but this opinion also did not explicitly state a remedy for the general election.

A spokesperson for the Jefferson County Clerk’s Office says local election officials will follow the directive of the secretary of state.

Steven Megerle, the attorney for Horlander, told Kentucky Public Radio earlier on Thursday that he interpreted the new high court ruling as meaning that Zeitz should be declared the winner and be the sole candidate of either party on the general election ballot for the district.

Craig had argued a vacancy should be declared by Adams and the local Democratic Party should be able to choose a nominee for the general election.

This story will be updated.

State government and politics reporting is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.