Two Dorchester County Republican candidates were cleared to be on the November general election ballot Monday when a lawsuit challenging their certification was dismissed by Circuit Judge Howard King.

Ed Carter, Republican nominee for House District 97 and Carroll Duncan nominee for Dorchester County Council District 5 will be on the November ballot. GOP candidate Sean Bennett, who defeated incumbent GOP Sen. Mike Rose in the June primary for Senate District 38, still awaits a ruling from King on his status.

This case has been bizarre from the beginning. After the June 12th primary balloting, the Dorchester County Democratic Party filed a lawsuit against the county and state GOP and the county and state election commission claiming Republican non-incumbent candidates had not filed candidacy paperwork properly.