The Kansas Supreme Court has just issued this order. The plaintiff seeks to force Democrats to choose a successor to Chad Taylor in the race for U.S. Senate. The Kansas Supreme Court allowed Taylor’s name to be removed from the ballot.  In an earlier analysis, I explained that this new case has little chance of succeeding on the merits.

In today’s order, the Kansas Supreme Court  sends the case to a lower court to take evidence, and consider various barriers to mandamus relief, including ripeness, standing, and other concerns.

The effect of this order is to delay things beyond the point at which it would make sense for Democrats to put a name on the ballot. That is, by the time the issue would get back to the Supreme Court, ballots may have been printed.

Democrats had been hoping to run out the clock in this case, and this is a big order helping that cause.

MORE from Dave Helling.