Louisville state Rep. Nima Kulkarni wins final battle to stay on November ballot

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville state Rep. Nima Kulkarni won her fight to stay on the ballot this November.

The Kentucky Supreme Court rejected an appeal by her primary opponent, William Zietz.

"Today's unanimous decision by the Kentucky Supreme Court was a big and final win for Representative Nima Kulkarni. This case has finally ended where we knew it would from the start," James Craig, Kulkarni's attorney, said in a statement. "The Kentucky House District 40 voters chose her by a wide margin in the primary, and we've been to two circuit courts and the Kentucky Supreme Court to save their voice. Today's unanimous decision protects the voices of the voters. The Democratic nominating process was done correctly and with integrity. This is a big win for my client, Rep. Kulkarni, but it is a bigger win for democracy."

Kulkarni, a Democrat, won 80% of the votes over Zeitz in the primary election for the District 40 seat in the Statehouse. But the Kentucky Supreme Court tossed the results, disqualifying Kulkarni due to a problem on her candidate filing paperwork. She needed two signatures from voters of the same party to support her candidacy, but one of Kulkarni's was registered Republican.

No Republicans ran in the race, so Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams declared a vacancy. That allowed each party to submit a new nominee for November. Democrats re-nominated the incumbent, Kulkarni.

Zeitz filed a lawsuit in September to block the nomination, but that effort failed. This is the second time the state Supreme Court has rejected the appeal. This will be the final ruling as Zeitz has no more appeals to file.

"As an attorney, I am duty-bound to respect and honor the decision of the Commonwealth's highest tribunal bringing this political and legal matter to finality in that branch of government. The Secretary of State exercised his executive authority as he saw fit and his interpretation of the law is now confirmed to be correct," Zeitz's attorney, Steve Megerle, said. "The result is Nirupama Kulkarni has no opponent and will be elected with these quirky facts. William Zeitz, an Army tank veteran, who served overseas and here who did nothing wrong is out. Politics often benefits the privileged like Ms. Kulkarni not asphalt truck drivers like Bill Zeitz. But our Commonwealth’s compact gives the final say to the collective body of the General Assembly to determine qualifications of its members. And I hope there might just be a robust discussion by that branch to finally determine whether Nirupama Kulkarni or William Zeitz should be seated for the people of House District 40."

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

Previous Coverage: