Tom Lingenfelter, a political activist and challenger in the May 21 primary in Bucks County, wants incumbent Sheriff Edward "Duke" Donnelly kicked off the ballot for using his nickname.
A local newspaper reports Lingenfelter's Common Pleas Court challenge says the nickname connotes a "hereditary distinction or nobility title," is likely to confuse voters and doesn't match the name on Donnelly's voter registration card.
Donnelly says he's always been called Duke saying, "When I was a kid, my dad was 'big Duke' and I was 'little Duke.'"
Donnelly doesn't seem to be taking the challenge too seriously, saying, "My wife is not a duchess, and if anybody ever calls her that, she'll probably kill me."
