Keating to face Republican challenger Helen Brady, SJC rules
U.S. Rep. William Keating will face a challenger this fall after all, the state’s high court ruled Monday in a decision that will allow Republican candidate Helen Brady to appear on the ballot.
“This is a victory for every Massachusetts voter as well as my candidacy,” Brady told the Herald.
The Supreme Judicial Court overturned a decision from the State Ballot Law Commission blocking Brady from participating after finding that a third-party vendor her campaign used to collect electronic signatures did not follow protocols outlined in the April decision for storing and managing the signatures.
“The court concludes that the electronic signature gathering process utilized by Brady complied in substance with the material requirements of Goldstein. It is hereby ordered, therefore, that the SBLC decision is vacated and the Secretary shall place Brady’s name on the ballot for the State primary election,” the justices wrote in their two-page order published Monday.
The court outlined its rules for gathering electronic signatures in Goldstein vs. the Secretary of the Commonwealth.
Brady’s attorney argued that since the eligibility of 39 other candidates who used the same vendor was not challenged, it would violate her constitutional equal protection rights to punish her.
“I feel I was singled out,” Brady said.
MassGOP Chairman Jim Lyons said he was “ecstatic” at the court’s decision and called the SBLC move a “shameful attempt to keep a Republican woman off the ballot.”
“I think this was a blatant political attack by Keating and members of the ballot commission to prevent him from having a candidate (opposing him) this year,” Lyons said. “Thankfully the SJC saw through that.”
Keating did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
The high court’s ruling requires the Secretary of State’s Office to print Brady’s name on the September primary ballot. With no Republican eligible to run against her in her district, Brady has a clear path to the November ballot.
Brady will be Keating’s sole challenger as the fiveterm Democratic incumbent also has no primary opponent.
“I’ve always hated seeing just one name on the ballot and that’s why I run,” Brady said.