The question over whether Terre Haute Republican Alexandra Wilson can appear on the ballot now heads back to the Indiana Election Commission.
Wilson is one of two Republican challengers to Senator Greg Goode, both with the last name Wilson.
Goode faces primary challengers after voting against redistricting last year. President Donald Trump threatened to back a primary challenger for Republicans who didn’t support redistricting and has since endorsed Brenda Wilson.
Supporters of the Trump-backed primary challenger worried that ballot confusion over which Wilson to vote for could help Greg Goode keep his seat.
Alexandra Wilson was barely approved to appear on the ballot by the Indiana Election Commission earlier this year. At question was whether she should be disqualified from the ballot for a 2010 criminal charge.
A felony conviction would keep Wilson off the ballot, but Wilson’s attorney said she ultimately pled that down to a misdemeanor. At 19, Wilson was charged with resisting arrest by vehicle, the attorney said, which means she did not immediately pull over for officers.
Samantha DeWester is the attorney representing Alexandra Wilson. She said that since the ballot challenge began, Wilson has had the charge expunged from her record.
“You can't say any longer with a straight face that she is some convicted person,” she said. “She was never convicted of a felony, ever, let alone any case, because it doesn't exist. It's been expunged.”
In response to the expungement, a judge sent the decision back to the Indiana Election Commission for a final determination.
Jim Bopp is the attorney behind Brenda Wilson’s ballot challenge. He said that he has requested the commission take up the issue as soon as possible.
“If they don't rule in our favor and remove her, we will appeal again to the judge,” Bopp said in a statement.
Contact Government Reporter Benjamin Thorp at bthorp@wfyi.org
