Ariél Zangla is reporting for the Daily Freeman Democrat Aisha Mills has secured a place on the Democratic primary election ballot in the 18th Congressional District race, after filing a lawsuit challenging her petition being found insufficient. “Her petitions were challenged for various irregularities,” Ulster County Democratic Elections Commissioner Ashley Dittus said last week. “The state [Board of Elections], the ruling body for this petition, found her petitions to be insufficient for ballot placement. She filed a lawsuit to bring the petition back for ballot placement. That lawsuit found her petition to be sufficient by nine signatures.” Dittus said when the state BOE certified the primary election ballot on June 30, Mills was not listed. She said Mills was put on the ballot on July 5, following her lawsuit. As a result, the three candidates in the Democratic primary for the recently drawn district will be Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan, of Gardiner, Moses Mugulusi, of the Orange County town of Florida, and Mills, of Newburgh. Mills, 44, is a journalist, political analyst, and policy advocate employed by BLK Hudson Productions. She holds a master’s of business administration from the University of Maryland, College Park. She is engaged to Melanie Collins and has three children. According to the Federal Election Commission, Mills’ campaign had raised approximately $18,000 as of June 30, the most recent quarterly report. The winner of the August 23 Democratic primary will face Republican Colin Schmitt in the general election for the 18th Congressional District. Read more in the Daily Freeman.