The Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to disqualify former President Donald J. Trump from the ballot for the state’s Republican presidential primary is almost certain to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
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Former President Donald J. Trump campaigned in Waterloo, Iowa, on Tuesday.
The short answer is: It’s too soon to know.
The Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to disqualify former President Donald J. Trump from the ballot for the state’s Republican presidential primary is almost certain to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court — Mr. Trump’s campaign has already vowed to do so.
He and his allies have expressed confidence that a possible ruling there would be in his favor, as three of the Supreme Court’s six conservative justices were nominated under his administration. Should the court take up the case, the decision would most likely determine Mr. Trump’s eligibility for the ballot in all 50 states.
The decision in Colorado alone would probably have little effect on the electoral map — the state awards just nine Electoral College votes and Democratic presidential candidates have won it for the last four general elections, with Joseph R. Biden Jr. winning in 2020 by the widest margin of those four, with 55.4 percent of the vote.
But if the court’s decision is upheld, it could set a precedent that allows for other states, including potentially more competitive ones, to invoke the 14th Amendment in a similar fashion.
The court’s ruling as it stands would obligate Colorado’s secretary of state to bar Mr. Trump from the state’s presidential primary ballot. That primary will be held on March 5, also known as Super Tuesday, because a large number of other states host their primaries then as well.
Tuesday’s ruling does not directly address the general election. But the legal argument — that Mr. Trump took part in an insurrection and thus is disqualified from running for office — could reasonably be expected to extend to the general election if the state’s Supreme Court were to take up a separate case relating to it.
On the campaign trail, Republican presidential candidates will again be pressured to weigh in on the legal woes of their chief opponent, who is still the overwhelming front-runner for president among G.O.P. primary voters.
Maya King is a politics reporter covering the South. Prior to joining The Times, she was a national political reporter at Politico, where she covered the 2020 presidential election. More about Maya King
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Source: nytimes.com
