By Corinne Murdock |
Although former President Donald Trump will be on Arizona ballots come March, he may not be eligible to run.
In a historic and narrow ruling, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that former President Donald Trump isn’t eligible for office under Section Three of the 14th Amendment, which prohibits insurrectionists, rebels, or sympathizers from running for office.
The court issued a stay on its decision until either Jan. 4 or the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the case, whichever comes sooner.
Arizona’s Republican leaders decried the court ruling online, while Democratic leaders largely remained silent.
Arizona House Speaker and congressional candidate Ben Toma (R-LD08) called the ruling an “abomination to the rule of law,” noting that Trump was convicted of no crime.
“This is a gross politicization of the Justice System and the Supreme Court should intervene to reinstate him on the Colorado ballot,” said Toma.
In a series of tweets, Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ-02) called the ruling “election interference” and speculated that the ruling had suspicious timing, given the historic low approval rating awarded to President Joe Biden recently. Crane accused the Democratic Party of fearing a Trump-Biden faceoff.
“At the end of the day, the left fears a return of President Trump because it would be a return to peace through strength,” said Crane. “He threatens to end their forever wars abroad, their open borders at home, and their government control over YOU.”
Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ-08) called the decision “insane” and “the ultimate attack on democracy.”
“Democrat-appointed Colorado judges rule in favor of group saying they want to protect democracy by throwing @realDonaldTrump off ballot when the act of throwing Trump off ballot is the ultimate attack on democracy!” said Lesko.
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ-09) saud the court decision was based on political, not legal reasoning.
“The [Democrats] know they can’t beat Trump, so they remove him and disenfranchise the voters of CO,” said Gosar. “A new low for our country. SCOTUS must end this election interference madness.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
