(Radio Iowa) – A judge has ruled Democratic U.S. Senator candidate Abby Finkenauer cannot appear on the June Primary ballot, a decision likely to be appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court. Finkenauer is a former Iowa congresswoman and one of three Democrats competing for a chance to face Republican Senator Chuck Grassley in the General Election. Two Republicans challenged Finkenauer’s nominating petitions for the Democratic Primary, arguing three nominating signatures were invalid, because one had the wrong date, one had no date at all and one had a zip code listed on the signature line.

Abby Finkenauer

The district court judge issued his ruling late Sunday night, saying those signatures were invalid. That changes the narrow tally of signatures Finkenauer’s campaign collected. Candidates for the U.S. Senate are required to gather at least 100 signatures in at least 19 counties. Without the three signatures, Finkenauer does not have enough signatures in two counties and falls short of the requirement.