WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a request to delay the election in Minnesota's 2nd congressional district, following the death of a third party candidate.
In a ruling Tuesday, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, who handles emergency requests for the federal appeals court that oversees Minnesota, denied a request from Republican candidate Tyler Kistner to postpone the election.
A state law called for the race to be moved to a special election in February, following the sudden death of Legal Marijuana Now candidate Adam Charles Weeks in September.
The Minnesota Nominee Vacancy Statute, enacted in 2013, calls for postponing any race in which a "major political party" candidate dies within 79 days of a general election. Weeks' Legal Marijuana Now party is considered a major party in Minnesota.
Incumbent Democratic Rep. Angie Craig filed a federal lawsuit against the Minnesota Secretary of State, who is in charge of elections, arguing that postponing the election to February would leave the district's constituents without a voice in Washington when members of Congress are sworn-in in January.
A federal judge granted an injunction, restoring the race in November; the judge also added Kistner as a defendant in case at that time.
Kistner appealed the ruling, arguing that many early voters didn't cast a ballot in the 2nd district race when they believed the race would be postponed; however, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied Kistner’s appeal.
“We appreciate the Supreme Court's timely response to our request," Kistner said in a statement following the decision by Justice Gorsuch. "It's unfortunate that Angie Craig is continuing to silence and disenfranchise thousands of her own constituents. As we have said before, we continue to urge Minnesotans to vote in the November 3rd election, and we look forward to debating the merits of this law in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in November."
Rep. Craig called the decision a win for the people of the district.
"Three different courts and five federal judges, including Justice Neil Gorsuch, have now confirmed what we have known all along: that the voters of Minnesota’s Second Congressional District deserve to have their voices heard as part of the November general election. Tyler Kistner has made his case – three times – and it has been rejected three times," Craig said in a statement. "The real win today is for the voters of Minnesota’s Second Congressional District – who will have their voices heard as part of the November general election and have continuous representation in Congress."
