A state panel voted to remove Libertarian candidates for governor and Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District from the Nov. 3 general election ballot — and the candidates are vowing to appeal the decision in court.
Republican voters, strategists and activists challenged the candidacies of gubernatorial candidate Nicholas Gluba, 2nd Congressional District candidate Rick Stewart and 3rd Congressional District Marco Battaglia.
The three-member State Objection Panel heard the challenges Monday, June 15.
The panel said Gluba and his lieutenant governor candidate, Jules Cutler, failed to qualify for the ballot because Cutler did not submit an affidavit of candidacy by the June 2 deadline.
And the panel said 3rd District candidate Marco Battaglia could not appear on the ballot because his affidavit of candidacy and nominating papers do not match his legal name, Mark T. Andersen — even though he run as a candidate previously on election ballots as Marco Battaglia.
Gluba, Cutler and Battaglia say they will appeal the panel’s ruling to district court.
“We have over 8,000 petitions signed,” Cutler said. “I think not appealing it would be doing a disservice to the people who actually signed those petitions.”
The panel found Stewart qualified for the general election ballot, unanimously voting to dismiss a complaint against him.
Republicans are expected to face competitive elections this fall as they seek to retain the governor’s office and their full control of Iowa’s congressional delegation. Having Libertarian candidates on the ballot could potentially pull away votes from Republicans they need to win.
Election analysts at the Cook Political Report rate Iowa’s governor’s race, and the 3rd District as “toss-ups.” The 2nd District is considered “likely Republican.”
Libertarian lieutenant governor candidate failed to submit affidavit of candidacy
The challenge against Gluba and Cutler’s candidacies from Waukee Republican Keven Arrowsmith revolved around Cutler’s failure to provide a signed affidavit of candidacy to the Iowa Secretary of State’s office.
Cutler said an employee in the office, Dani Phillips, told her she did not need to submit a separate affidavit of candidacy and that Phillips would not accept Cutler’s affidavit when she tried to submit it.
Gluba turned in his own affidavit of candidacy, as well as more than 8,000 signatures of Iowans who support placing the proposed gubernatorial ticket on the ballot, exceeding the 3,500-signature threshold.
Phillips, however, testified to the panel that Cutler did not provide an affidavit of candidacy or ask if she was required to provide one.
“I think there’s a factual issue that appears to be very much in dispute,” said Attorney General Brenna Bird, who sits on the panel. “Ms. Phillips says that the affidavit of lieutenant governor was never offered as part of the petitions. Ms. Cutler and others say that the objection was offered, and it was rejected as not necessary by Ms. Phillips.”
The panel, comprised of Bird, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate and Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, all Republicans, ruled unanimously in favor of the challenge against Gluba and Cutler, removing the gubernatorial ticket from the ballot.
“I tend to side with the election worker, because I don’t think she has a reason not to follow the law,” Bird said. “That hasn’t been seen here, and as she described it, I think that that affidavit for whatever reason may not have been filed.”
State Auditor Rob Sand, a Democrat, recused himself from hearing the challenge because he is running for governor.
With Gluba off the ballot, Sand and Republican Zach Lahn will be the only gubernatorial candidates on Iowa’s ballot.
At the hearing, Gluba and Cutler’s attorney, Jake Heard, questioned Phillips’ memory of the day that Gluba and Cutler submitted their nominating papers.
Cutler said she believes Phillips made a mistake and doesn’t remember Cutler trying to offer an affidavit of candidacy.
“It is natural for her to make a mistake, and I’m willing to give that to her,” Cutler said. “What I would really appreciate the objection panel to look at is her memory.”
After the hearing, Cutler criticized the panel’s proceedings.
“That is the most disappointing, frustrating and disheartening experience I’ve had in 30-plus years since I immigrated as a 16-year-old girl from the Soviet Union,” Cutler said.
Marco Battaglia removed from 3rd District ballot for not using legal name
A split panel voted to remove Battaglia from the ballot because he did not run under his legal name of Mark Andersen.
Alan Ostergren, an attorney for challengers Annie Kuhle and Wes Enos, said allowing someone to run for office under a different name would confuse voters.
“What would stop a candidate next cycle from saying, ‘My name’s Chuck Grassley, I’m running for the Senate,'” Ostergren said.
However, Battaglia ran for governor as a Libertarian in 2018, losing the primary and then running as the party’s nominee for attorney general that year. Battaglia also was the Libertarian nominee for lieutenant governor in 2022.
“Mr. Battaglia has appeared on the ballot in three general elections as Marco Battaglia,” said Stephanie Berlin, chair of the Libertarian Party of Iowa. “He is known professionally as Marco Battaglia in his band. Everybody knows who he is as Marco Battaglia.”
He also ran for Congress in the 3rd District in 2024 but was removed from the ballot for a different reason and ran as a write-in candidate.
Sand asked Berlin about Battaglia’s previous runs for office under the name Marco Battaglia.
“Wouldn’t an objection at this point when he’s already done it be in some way unfair?” he said.
Berlin agreed.
Bird said she believes Iowa law is clear that candidates have to run under their own name.
“I don’t think Iowa law allows someone to run for office under a fictitious name that’s not their name,” Bird said.
The panel voted 2-1 to uphold the challenge against Battaglia, with Bird and Pate in favor and Sand opposed.
With Battaglia off the ballot, Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn and Democratic state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott will be the only candidates on the ballot in the 3rd District, which includes the Des Moines metro.
Battaglia says he faces pressure from Republicans to drop out of the race.
He said Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn and Kuhle, who is a Republican strategist and adviser to Nunn, visited his home and asked him to drop out. Battaglia said he also received a call from U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Officials with Nunn’s campaign said they believe Battaglia submitted petition signatures they suspect were gathered by an outside group, which could constitute an illegal in-kind contribution to Battaglia’s campaign under federal law.
After meeting with Nunn and Kuhle, Battaglia told them in a text that he would consider ending his candidacy “if you would be willing to introduce impeachment of the President for Treason, Bribery and other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”
Kuhle refused.
“To be clear, this is not a negotiation; Zach will not be making any promises about official policy actions in exchange for your removal from the ballot,” she wrote in a text to Battaglia.
After the hearing, Berlin criticized what she called threats against Battaglia, saying Nunn and Kennedy offered Battaglia time in the White House and visits to Trump administration officials if he dropped out.
“We are not the Republican JV team,” she said. “We are not backing down.”
Kuhle disputed that characterization in a statement, saying, “no offer, inducement or thing of value was ever proposed or provided in exchange for withdrawing the nomination petitions.”
Rick Stewart will appear on ballot in 2nd District
Stewart will appear on the general election ballot in Iowa’s 2nd District after the panel voted unanimously to dismiss the objection against him.
Bernie Hayes, chair of the Linn County Republicans, argued Stewart should be disqualified because he identifies himself as Rick Stewart on his affidavit of candidacy but turned in nominating petitions identifying himself as Richard Stewart.
Ostergren, who represented Hayes, said he did not know whether he would appeal the panel’s ruling.
Stewart will join Republican Joe Mitchell, Democrat Lindsay James and no party candidate Dave Bushaw on the ballot in the northeast Iowa district.
Stephen Gruber-Miller is the Capitol bureau chief for the Des Moines Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com, by phone at 515-284-8169 or on X at @sgrubermiller.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Panel boots Libertarians from Iowa ballot for governor, US House
Reporting by Stephen Gruber-Miller, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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By Stephen Gruber-Miller, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
