A pair of GOP congressmen can call themselves farmers on the November ballot, a Sacramento judge has ruled, dismissing challenges financed by California Democratic groups.

Superior Court Judge Allen Sumner dumped the complaints Wednesday with a simple “writ denied” ruling, not even discussing the arguments filed against Reps. Devin Nunes of Tulare and Jeff Denham of Turlock (Stanislaus County).

The two suits, filed by local farmers but paid for by a pair of committees looking to flip seven or more Republican-held seats in California, argued that neither Denham nor Nunes was an actual farmer. The plaintiffs said the congressmen added those designations to their ballot descriptions in an effort to score political points in their agriculture-heavy Central Valley districts.

Denham “does not live on a farm or earn any income from work as a farmer,” said the suit challenging his designation. “Instead, he is a member of Congress who also owns a plastic business that sells products to those in the agriculture industry.”

The suit challenging Nunes’ description argued that the House Intelligence Committee chairman and fervent supporter of President Trump shouldn’t be allowed to call himself a “U.S. Representative/Farmer” because he no longer has a connection to his family’s longtime dairy business.

Nunes and Denham say they and their families have spent years as members of the farming community and still earn at least part of their living from agriculture.

The plaintiffs’ arguments may not have convinced the judge, but Democrats are making no apologies.

“This lawsuit was thrown out because Jeff Denham hid and purposefully avoided being in his district so he could not be served the legal paperwork,” said Andrew Feldman, a spokesman for the Democratic group Red to Blue California. “Let’s be clear — it was not thrown out because Jeff Denham is a legitimate farmer. He and everyone else knows he is not.”

Paul Buxman, the Fresno farmer whose suit against Nunes was backed by the Democratic group Fight Back California, also said the judge’s decision didn’t change the facts as he saw them.

“While we’re disappointed that the judge kicked the issue back over to another government agency, we know that Devin Nunes is not a farmer, and he’s lost touch with local farmers here in the Central Valley,” Buxman said in a statement. “By any credible description of what defines a farmer ... Devin Nunes is not a farmer.”

The judge also dismissed a challenge to Republican Young Kim’s “Small Business Owner” designation from plaintiffs who argued that her consultant business was not registered. She is a candidate for an Orange County congressional seat now held by retiring GOP Rep. Ed Royce.

John Wildermuth is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jfwildermuth