Judge to consider U.S. Senate candidate John Rust’s plea to suspend Indiana election law

Rust was deposed for more than three hours about his arguments for appearing on the May ballot.

A Marion County judge will hear arguments next month over whether to suspend an Indiana law that U.S. Senate candidate John Rust says unfairly precludes him from appearing on the ballot.

The underlying lawsuit was filed in the Marion County Superior Court last month as part of Rust’s effort to get his name on the May 2024 primary ballot. Rust maintains that a current Indiana law blocking him from the primary ballot is unconstitutional.

Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales, the Indiana Election Commission and Jackson County Republican Party Chair Amanda Lowery are named as defendants.

John Dietrick, a special Marion County Superior Court judge presiding over the case, said in a Wednesday order that he’ll consider Rust’s request for a preliminary injunction on Nov. 1. It’s not clear how long it could take Dietrick to issue an opinion, however.

The law in question requires a person wanting to run as a Democrat or Republican to have voted in that party’s primary the last two times they voted. The county party chair can sign off on the candidacy if the person doesn’t meet the requirement.

Also included in the latest court filings is the 148-page transcript from Rust’s three-and-a-half-hour deposition. Questioning from attorney Jim Bopp with the Indiana Attorney General’s Office, as well as from counsel for Lowery, took place last week in Indianapolis.

Rust, an openly gay Hoosier running as a Republican who chaired his family’s Seymour-based Rose Acre Farms until last month, entered the race for the GOP nomination in September. His main challenger is U.S. Rep. Jim Banks, who is the party’s favored contender in the race.