Top state court tells official to take lawyer's name off US Senate ballot
Granting a writ of mandamus filed by an attorney who withdrew as a candidate for the U.S. Senate after winning the Democratic primary, the Kansas Supreme Court on Thursday told the secretary of state to remove Chad Taylor’s name from the November ballot.
Although Taylor did not expressly state in his withdrawal filing that he would be incapable of serving if elected, his use of the phrase “pursuant to” and citation of a state statute was sufficient to implicate the law, the state’s top court explained in its written opinion (PDF). The law, K.S.A. 25-306b(b), requires the secretary of state to remove from the ballot the name of a candidate who files a declaration that he would be incapable of serving if elected.
Whether the Democrats field a candidate is expected to have an impact on the incumbent Republican, Sen. Pat Roberts. The secretary of state, Kris Kobach, said after the supreme court ruled that he would order the state Democratic party to select a replacement for Taylor by Sept. 26, the Kansas City Star reports. It isn’t known if the party will do so.
A Democrat hasn’t been elected to the U.S. Senate from Kansas since the 1930s, according to the Washington Post (reg. req.).
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Lawyer who dropped out of US Senate race sues to get his name removed from ballot”
Wall Street Journal (sub. req.): “Kansas Supreme Court Rules Democrat Chad Taylor Can Withdraw From Senate Ballot”
See also:
NBC News: “Greg Orman: The Most Interesting Man in Politics This November”
