Colorado Republican Party asks Supreme Court to overturn Trump ruling

The Colorado Republican Party filed an appeal Wednesday to the state supreme court’s ruling barring former President Trump from the primary ballot, taking the unprecedented case to the Supreme Court.

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled last week that Trump was ineligible for the state’s ballot because of his involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, which disqualified him under the 14th Amendment.

The Supreme Court, which is expected to hear the case, has never made a decision on the 14th Amendment’s “insurrection clause” since it was ratified in 1868.

The Colorado GOP argued that the state’s court ruled incorrectly in the case, claiming the 14th Amendment clause does not apply to the presidency. The party also argued that the unprecedented step of removing a major candidate from the ballot would be a disservice to the country.

“The Colorado Supreme Court has removed the leading Republican candidate from the primary and general ballots, fundamentally changing the course of American democracy,” the party’s attorneys wrote Wednesday. 

“Unless the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision is overturned, any voter will have the power to sue to disqualify any political candidate, in Colorado or in any other jurisdiction that follows its lead,” they continued. “This will not only distort the 2024 presidential election but will also mire courts henceforth in political controversies over nebulous accusations of insurrection.”

Trump also vowed to appeal the case. Both he and the state party are defendants.

If the Supreme Court upholds the Colorado case it would not likely impact the 2024 by itself, as the state is likely to fall to Democrats anyway, but would open the door to similar 14th Amendment challenges nationwide.

Sean Grimsley, attorney for the plaintiffs, said he is preparing to request an accelerated decision from the high court.

“We obviously are going to ask for an extremely accelerated timeline because of all the reasons I’ve stated, we have a primary coming up on Super Tuesday and we need to know the answer,” Grimsley said in a podcast appearance last week, according to The Associated Press.

The legal arguments of the case have divided constitutional scholars from both political parties, and it’s unclear how the Supreme Court would rule.

The Michigan Supreme Court threw out a similar 14th Amendment challenge Wednesday, arguing that its Secretary of State does not have the authority to kick a candidate off the ballot. It did not rule on the merits of the 14th Amendment claim.

The Maine Secretary of State is expected to consider a similar challenge this week.

Trump derided the Colorado and other 14th Amendment challenges as “election interference.”

“Democrat Party leaders are in a state of paranoia over the growing, dominant lead President Trump has amassed in the polls. They have lost faith in the failed Biden presidency and are now doing everything they can to stop the American voters from throwing them out of office next November,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement last week.