STATEWIDE (NETWORK INDIANA) — Indiana will have an open United States Senate seat by the end of this year, and one Hoosier farmer is taking his candidacy fight to the state Supreme Court.

John Rust is running as a Republican against Indiana Congressman Jim Banks competing for Senator Mike Braun’s seat, which he intends to give up as he campaigns for the governor’s seat.

However, Rust is fighting an uphill battle in getting his name on the May primary ballot. Rust was initially denied ballot access in Jackson County due to an Indiana election law that requires a candidate to have voted in that party’s last two primaries. John Rust last voted Republican in 2016. Before that, Rust voted for several Democrat candidates dating back to around 2008.

Rust has claimed they were either personal friends or “conservative-leaning” Democrats. Rust has stood firm in his claim that he’s a Republican and intends to defeat “career-politician” Jim Banks.

Rust’s case will be decided before the Indiana Supreme Court on February 12th, which happens to fall right in the middle of the entire ballot decision process.

“I can’t imagine the Indiana state Supreme Court would remove me from the ballot,” said Rust in an interview with IndyPolitics.

Rust explained that aforementioned election law is insane, ridiculous, and obscure. He says that law would prevent 81-percent of Hoosiers from running for political office, and that it’s basically an “incumbent protection act” in his eyes.

“They don’t want political outsiders running,” Rust continued, “I think everyone knows the problems we’re facing in our economy with political insiders going to Washington and continuing to allow our nation’s debt to increase year after year.”

Rust, an egg farmer living in Seymour, specifically points to Indiana Republicans like Banks as being liars and career politicians whom aren’t actually concerned with the nation’s debt or Hoosier interests. He says the only Hoosier representative that voted somewhat consistently was Congresswoman Victoria Spartz.

“He (Banks) lied about it (his debt ceiling vote),” Rust explained, “he came to Indiana and said on WOWO Radio that he was against raising the debt ceiling by 4-trillion-dollars. What does he do that afternoon? He votes yes to bring it to the House floor for consideration and then he disappears.”

John Rust has been criticized and accused of suing his way onto the ballot. Rust said that’s nonsense and that he himself went door to door in every Congressional district to get people’s names on a petition.

When the issue of Rust’s address and where he actually votes came up, he said that too was nonsense, “I’ve lived in the same house for 30 years. My mailbox is like, a mile-and-a-half away. Jim Banks is complaining about that. His mailbox is 580 miles from the state of Indiana. He lives in Virginia.”

Rust says Banks would barely qualify as an Indiana senator. He says Virginia already has two senators, and that Indiana deserves it’s own two senators whom are actually concerned with what’s happening in Indiana.

Rust’s egg farmer was recently listed in a price fixing suit. He tells IndyPolitics he’s confident he can beat that case and move onto becoming Indiana’s next senator.

Senator Todd Young stands as Indiana’s senior senator.