Ky. Supreme Court disqualifies Louisville State Rep. Kulkarni's candidacy

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Votes for a Kentucky State representative from Louisville who won her primary in a landslide will not count.

The Kentucky Supreme Court disqualified Ky. Rep. Nima Kulkarni (D-Louisville) as a candidate in May's primary, after a legal challenge.

Kulkarni, the incumbent, won the Democratic primary for District 40's state representative in Louisville against challenger William Zeitz. The high court's ruling upholds the State Court of Appeals' May 15 decision to disqualify her because of a problem in her candidate filing paperwork.

Kentucky state law requires the signatures of two nominating witnesses of a candidates same party affiliation. Kulkarni is a democrat but one of her nominating witnesses was registered as a Republican at the time of filing.

The challenge to her eligibility was brought in a lawsuit filed by former Rep. Dennis Horlander, who previously held the 40th district seat for 22 years until Kulkarni upset him in the 2018 primary. Horlander was not a candidate in this year's primary.

The State Supreme court was unable to take up the case until after the election. The court issued an order allowing her name to remain on the ballot, but stipulated that the election not be certified by the Kentucky Secretary of State until the court reached a decision.

"I applaud the Kentucky Supreme Court and Court of Appeals for their rapid speed in deciding this issue and correcting the situation," Horlander’s attorney Steve Megerle said. "Kulkarni duped the voters of house district 40 into voting for her despite knowing she did not meet the qualifications since January 8."

When Kulkarni, an immigration attorney, won office in 2018, she became the first Indian American elected to Kentucky's House of Representatives.

She did not immediately return phone calls for comment on the Supreme Court's decision.

There is no Republican candidate running in November for Kentucky's 40th District, but what happens next remains unclear according to Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams' office.

"The Supreme Court has disqualified Rep. Nima Kulkarni and stated they would render their opinion later," Spokesperson Michon Lindstrom said in an emailed response to WDRB. "We are not able to detail next steps until that opinion clarifying how to proceed is issued."

It is possible, with Kulkarni disqualified, that Zeitz could be declared the winner of the primary and run unopposed on the ballot in the general election. He ran a slim campaign raising no money for the primary according to state election reports, and received only 565 votes.

Meanwhile Megerle hopes a special election will be called to seat a new democratic primary winner.

Kulkarni's legal team believes the democratic party in Jefferson County can appoint a nominee and isn't giving up hope that Kulkarni could stay in office through such a selection.

"We thank the Supreme Court for their review of our position. Because there is now a vacancy in the nomination, it falls to the Jefferson County Democratic Party and the party officers for the 40th district to nominate a candidate," Kulkarni's attorney James Craig said. " Rep. Kulkarni will certainly see that nomination and she is eligible for it."

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