The Trump campaign vowed Tuesday to swiftly appeal a Colorado court ruling to kick him off the ballot over his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, putting the matter on track to be decided by the Supreme Court of the United States.
Campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung sought to cast the 4-3 ruling by the state’s highest court as a matter of political interference meant to protect President Biden from having to face Trump next November.
“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,” Cheung said in a statement.
“The Colorado Supreme Court issued a completely flawed decision tonight and we will swiftly file an appeal to the United States Supreme Court and a concurrent request for a stay of this deeply undemocratic decision,” he continued. “We have full confidence that the U.S. Supreme Court will quickly rule in our favor and finally put an end to these unAmerican lawsuits.”
Trump supporters violently stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to try and stop the certification of President Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.
In a major legal blow to Trump, the Colorado court affirmed he engaged in insurrection by inflaming his supporters with false claims of election fraud and directing them to the Capitol — preventing him from a second White House term under the 14th Amendment’s “insurrection clause.”
The court put its ruling on hold until Jan. 4, so Trump can first seek review from the Supreme Court. If he does, Trump’s name automatically remains on the ballot until the justices resolve the appeal.
If allowed to take effect, Colorado’s secretary of state may not list Trump’s name on the 2024 presidential primary ballot, nor may she count any write-in votes cast for him.
An appeal would take the case to the Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority and includes three justices nominated by Trump.
Trump is the dominant front-runner in the GOP primary, leading his rivals by an average of roughly 50 percentage points in national polls and by double digits in state-level polls. Trump has retained that comfortable margin despite being indicted four separate times this year.
In Colorado, four Republican and two independent voters, backed by left-leaning group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, cited the provision in their lawsuit seeking to prevent another Trump term.
Similar cases have also been brought in states including Michigan and Minnesota, but none have been successful in removing Trump’s name from any state’s ballot.
The seven-member bench of Colorado’s Supreme Court was entirely appointed by Democratic governors. Six later faced voters and won retention elections, while the seventh will do so next year.