Jerome Segal, a retired University of Maryland faculty member, lost his bid to get the socialist Bread and Roses party on the November ballot Oct. 11 when the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied his appeal.
Segal ran as a Democrat in the June primary against Maryland senator Ben Cardin.
Cardin received 477,441 votes while Segal received 20,027.
In September, the Bread and Roses party, which selected Segal as its nominee, was 227 signatures short of the required 10,000 that allow parties to be listed on ballots. State officials rejected about 1,000 of the party’s signatures because they lacked a middle name.
In addition, a state law known as the “sore loser” law, prevents candidates who lost in the primary from appearing on the general election ballot.
In early September, Segal filed a lawsuit challenging the middle name requirement and the “sore loser” law, which he said “denies voters their constitutional right to vote for the candidate that reflects their views.”
He filed a preliminary injunction which would allow his name to be printed on ballots while the court made a decision on his case. The motion was denied, and Segal filed an emergency motion with the court of appeals.
“The Bread and Roses party is going to be a factor in Maryland politics going forward,” Segal said, according to an email from spokesperson Frank Caskin. “We will be fielding candidates in the 2020 elections, and the party will be a vehicle for advancing progressive causes in a meaningful way. … Maryland voters are thirsting for change, and would benefit immeasurably from having more candidate choices.”
The Bread and Roses Party was “the first simple living party … in 50 years,” Segal said.
Segal contributed over $1 million of his own funds to his campaign, according to campaign finance reports tracked by Open Secrets, an independent and nonprofit research group.
“If Segal does not appear on the ballot for the November election, Segal For Senate is a defunct organization, with no opportunity to raise money and no opportunity to repay its financial debt to Dr. Segal,” court documents read in September.
Segal plans to submit the Bread and Roses signatures again shortly after election day. If accepted, the signatures will allow the party to get onto the ballot in Maryland in 2020.
