Potter Constable Candidate Declared Ineligible for Republican Primary

One local Republican primary winner will likely not be appearing on the November ballot.

In Potter County Precinct 2, Republican constable candidate Zack Coleman was been declared ineligible from appearing on the primary ballot just before the March 3 contest. The candidate’s ineligibility was declared late last month following a lawsuit filed against Potter Republican chairman Dan Rogers and Coleman by the incumbent Constable Georgia Estrada.

On Wednesday, Rogers confirmed that Coleman was declared ineligible due to the fact that he was not registered to vote in the precinct 30 days prior to the election. The lawsuit against Rogers and Coleman alleged that Coleman did not reside at the address listed on his candidate form and that he was not registered to vote at the address in time to qualify for the ballot.

Estrada’s attorney, Chris Hesse, said he feels the right decision was made to declare the candidate ineligible.

“Dan Rogers is the Potter County Republican chairman and he has the responsibility to make sure his candidate are eligible,” Hesse said. “He’s responsible for his signature and his check on the form.”

Coleman’s name still appeared on the primary ballot Tuesday and he was unopposed. However, since he was declared ineligible, the local Republican Party can now choose a new candidate to appear on the November ballot. Rogers confirmed that the party intends to place a candidate on that ballot.

“Yeah, we will have someone,” Rogers said. “It will be someone new.”

However, the incumbent Estrada said she is prepared for the November election.

“I’m going to run my campaign the same way I’ve been running,” Estrada said. “I don’t know who it will be but it won’t interfere with how I’m running my campaign. It just won’t.”