Lexington County Republican Party officials can now support petition candidates after its executive committee voted to suspend a state party rule Monday, The State reports. 

Party officials are required to only support the Republican nominee for a local election. 

Officials decided to suspend the rule, which is only for the November election, after two Supreme Court decisions resulted in more than 250 candidates across the state being ruled ineligible for the state's June primary.

Candidates were dropped from the ballot because they did not file their Statement of Economic Interest paperwork correctly according to state law. 

The SEI forms are filed with the S.C. Ethics Commission, which requires candidates to file their SEI forms electronically but state law still requires a paper copy be filed.

Petition candidate Katrina Shealy — Sen. Jake Knotts' opponent for District 23  — told The State she expects to be publicly endorsed by some GOP officials now that the rule was suspended.

"I'm glad (the party) is doing this," she said. "It's a step in the right direction."

Read more on TheState.com.