Indiana Judge Rules in Favor of GOP Senate Hopeful John Rust

Ruling Strikes Down Law on Party Affiliation Voting Requirements, Boosting Rust's Bid for Nomination

A Marion County judge has ruled that an Indiana law requiring candidates to have voted in the primary of their chosen party the last two elections or get approval for their candidacy from the county party chair is unconstitutional. The ruling is a victory for John Rust, a U.S. Senate hopeful seeking the Republican nomination.
Rust, former chair of the egg supplier Rose Acre Farms, is running to replace Sen. Mike Braun. He filed a lawsuit in September against Secretary of State Diego Morales, the Indiana Election Commission, and Jackson County Republican Party Chair Amanda Lowery to challenge the law and ensure his place on the ballot.
Rust voted as a Republican in the 2016 primary but as a Democrat in 2012. He did not vote in the 2020 Republican primary due to the pandemic and the lack of competitive Republican races in Jackson County. Rust said his Democratic votes were for people he personally knew.
Despite the ruling, Rust still faces an uphill challenge for the GOP nomination. U.S. Rep. Jim Banks has received the endorsement of the Indiana Republican Party and former President Donald Trump. Rust must also fulfill a signature quota for the nomination.
Rust's family business, Rose Acre Farms, was one of four major egg producers in the country accused of fixing the price of eggs in the 2000s. A jury in an Illinois federal court recently ruled the producers conspired to limit the domestic supply of eggs to increase prices between 2004-2008 and ordered the companies to pay $17.7 million in damages.