The V.I. Elections Office rejected the nominating petition for lieutenant governor candidate John Canegata on Tuesday, saying that, as a registered Republican, he cannot legally run on a nonpartisan ticket with gubernatorial candidate Soraya Diase Coffelt, giving Canegata three days to resubmit.
Coffelt said Wednesday they dispute that reading of the law and will not submit new papers but instead challenge it in court.
"Both candidates have been served a notice of defect as of this morning," Supervisor of Elections Caroline Fawkes said Tuesday. Fawkes cited a section of V.I. law (Title 18, Chapter 17, section 342a) which says "any person running for public office must run as a candidate consistent with the political party designation under which the candidate is registered at the time of the filing of the nomination petition."
According to Fawkes, Canegata has three days to make the correction, starting Wednesday. To run, he would need to resign from party positions and change his party affiliation to independent, she said.
"The law is very clear," she said.
Messages left for Canegata with the campaign had not been not returned as of 8 p.m. Wednesday but Coffelt called and spoke at length, saying the campaign would challenge the decision in court.
Asked whether a court could address the question in time for the election, Coffelt said she would ask for an expedited hearing due to the circumstances and limited timeframe.
"He is running as a Republican with me (an independent) as governor. There is no law prohibiting running a split-party ticket," Coffelt said Wednesday.
And if V.I. law did prohibit a split ticket, that law would be unconstitutional, she said.
"The Supreme Court has looked at this issue many times," she said, adding that to limit anyone who is registered is a violation and “really burdensome.”
“It promotes the continuance of the Democratic party being in control," Coffelt said.
"A Republican cannot run with a no-party candidate? Where does it say that in the law? There is no statute, and we have had it before," Coffelt said, citing the mixed-partisanship of the Gov. Juan F. Luis administration.
Asked to comment on Coffelt’s counterpoints, Fawkes cited the relevant passages of V.I. law and said, "Mrs. Coffelt can challenge the law through the legal system" if she prefers not to have Canegata file new papers.
Canegata is Coffelt’s second running mate. She initially announced she was running with hedge fund owner Warren Mosler, but the two had a falling out and Canegata replaced Mosler on the ticket. (See Related Links below)
