Kentucky Supreme Court upholds disqualification of Louisville state representative's reelection bid

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Kentucky Supreme Court has upheld its decision to disqualify a Louisville state representative in her bid for reelection.

Justices said Nima Kulkarni did not follow the law, but her legal team believes there's hope for her to stay in office.

An error on the filing paperwork got Kulkarni disqualified. The Democrat needed two signatures from voters of the same party to support her candidacy. One of hers was registered Republican.

Kulkarni won the primary in a landslide, and no Republican candidates ran for her House district.

But those results don't count. Secretary of State Michael Adams said the high court's decision means no election occurred. That means both parties will be able to put up a candidate for House District 40 in November, according to Adams.

Kulkarni's team believes she can still be that nominee if the party appoints her.

"It's a narrow acceptation to the rule but it does provide Rep. Kulkarni a path to get on the ballot in November, and we expect her to be there and we expect her to prevail," James Craig, Kulkarni's attorney, said.

Kulkarni beat a 20-year incumbent in Dennis Horlander to win this seat in 2018. He's also the one who challenged her candidacy, getting her disqualified from the race.

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