BATON ROUGE, La. — Three lesser-known candidates who registered to run for Louisiana governor have been thrown out of the race because they failed to file their income tax returns.
The secretary of state's office says that Republicans Manuel Russell Leach and Patrick Doguet and Democrat M.V. "Vinny" Mendoza were disqualified.
The Advocate reports that a judge determined the three contenders didn't comply with a state law requiring candidates to have filed state and federal income tax returns for each of the past five years.
That leaves six people on the Oct. 12 ballot vying to be governor. Among them, Democratic incumbent John Bel Edwards faces two major Republican opponents, U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham and businessman Eddie Rispone.
The secretary of state's office says the period to challenge a candidate's qualifications has ended.
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