It’s up to the parties: Nomination now open following Kulkarni disqualification

It’s now settled that Rep. Nima Kulkarni, D-Louisville, does not have the Democratic nomination to run for reelection due to a filing error. But, depending on what the Kentucky Democratic Party decides, she could reclaim it.

The Kentucky Supreme Court issued a ruling on Thursday declaring Kulkarni’s candidacy ineligible. In response, Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams said an election for the seat will be held in November.

The nomination process for selecting candidates is up to the parties themselves, though, so Democrats could choose to relaunch Kulkarni’s campaign.

Neither Republicans nor Democrats have offered much perspective on how the process will play out. However, the south-central Louisville district is heavily Democratic. According to Dave’s Redistricting, a political mapping analysis resource, House District 40 leans about 79% Democratic based on an aggregation of results from 2016 to 2020.

Jon Levin, a spokesperson for the Kentucky Democratic Party, told the Herald-Leader that the party is “currently reviewing” the Kentucky Supreme Court’s decision.

The state’s highest court did not prescribe a solution on the matter. The Republican Party of Kentucky has not commented on its plans going forward, either.

Kulkarni and her attorney, James Craig, said the representative intends to pursue the nomination. Kulkarni told the Herald-Leader she will “absolutely” work to make it on the November ballot.

Kulkarni defeated a challenger, William Zeitz, with 78% of the vote during this year’s Democratic primary. She first claimed the seat in 2018 when she beat incumbent Dennis Horlander, the person who ended up suing against her candidacy this year.

“Weeks ago, voters chose me by almost 80%. Therefore, I will respect the voters’ wishes, and seek the nomination again. I look forward to getting back to work for the 40th District,” Kulkarni told the Herald-Leader.

The situation isn’t exactly the same, but the last time a vacancy occurred for statehouse Democrats, the nominee was selected by a nominating committee comprised of members of each Democratic Precinct Committee in the district. When late representative Lamin Swann passed away in 2023, such a nominating committee in the South Lexington House District 93 selected Rep. Adrielle Camuel, D-Lexington.

Camuel, who was part of the committee but recused from the vote, got the nod over Emma Curtis, who is now seeking to join the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council.

Craig pointed to state statute that bars disqualified primary candidates from becoming the general election nominee “except that if a vacancy occurs in the party nomination for which he or she was a candidate in the primary,” which is the case in this election.

Kulkarni was ultimately disqualified after a long legal back-and-forth due to the fact that she had a woman who was a Republican co-sign her filing papers. Kulkarni has stated that she believed the woman, who has since switched her registration, was a Democrat at the time.