An independent candidate is fighting to stay on the ballot in a Bucks County state House race

Gambino told the Capital-Star that he believes the objection to his nomination papers is politically motivated, intended to clear potential competition to major party candidates.

The objection was brought by two voters, Michael Herman and Lloyd Randall Faulkner, who are being represented by Adam Bonin, an attorney who primarily works with Democrats on election-related cases.

Bonin declined to comment when reached by the Capital-Star.

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“If we continue to just have two parties, this country will continue to become more and more divided,” Gambino said. “It’s shortsightedness. Is this election important? Absolutely. But is what happens in this election going to completely destroy our world? Absolutely not.” 

The Bucks County seat in the 143rd Legislative District is currently held by Republican Shelby Labs. But Democrats are eyeing the race as a potential chance to expand their slim majority. The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee lists the 143rd as one of its “target races,” backing Democrat Tim Hayes.

The objection to Gambino’s filing papers challenges 269 of the 667 signatures he collected. He needs 488 valid signatures in order to appear on the ballot.

The challenge also alleges Gambino’s identification with the “Forward Independent” party violates state rules prohibiting political parties from adopting names similar to one another’s.

Because another candidate had already filed to run as a member of the “Independent Party” in an adjacent state House district, the objection argues “Gambino could not lawfully include ‘Independent’ as part of the name of his political body.”

“The risk of voter confusion in these adjacent districts is considerable if Gambino is permitted to employ a political body name which he is not legally permitted to use,” the petition continues.

Gambino describes himself as fed up with the two-party system, and hopes his campaign could open the door to more third-party and independent candidates like him.

“I saw that neither party was trying to bring people back together,” he said. “The goal should be bettering communities and in a lot of ways it’s not anymore. It’s about attaining and retaining power.”

He said he wonders if fear of an independent siphoning votes from a major party candidate spurred the challenge to his nomination papers, as opposed to a genuine concern about election integrity.

“We hit the pavement. We were knocking on doors. We were talking to people and got people excited,” he said. “They were willing to step out on a limb and sign this [petition], and now their voices are being thrown out.”

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In a year of high stakes elections, numerous hopeful candidates have dealt with challenges to their nomination papers since the filing deadline earlier this month, along with accusations that third party candidates may serve as spoilers.

In eastern Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, Both Democrats and the progressive Green Party of Pennsylvania are trying to boot Green Party candidate Andrew Tupone off the ballot. 

While the Democratic challenge is on technical grounds, the Green Party is warning that Tupone, who was registered as a Republican until earlier this year, is attempting to trick voters by claiming affiliation with their party.

Democrats and liberals view the 7th Congressional District race as a critical one in their efforts to flip the U.S. House. It’s currently represented by Republican Ryan Mackenzie and believed to be among the most competitive districts in the country.

In Western Pennsylvania’s 60th Legislative District, Libertarian Brian John Peltier requested to remove his name from the ballot after a challenge to some of the signatures he collected.

Bonin is also involved in a petition to challenge the nomination papers for Green Party candidates for Governor and Lt. Governor.