The Colorado Republican Party has vowed to remove itself from the GOP primary ballot and move to a “Caucus system” if former President Donald Trump is kept off the ballot.
In a 4-3 ruling, the Colorado Supreme Court announced Trump was “disqualified from holding the office of President under Section Three of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Consitution,” according to a 213-page opinion from the justices.
After the ruling, the Colorado Republican Party issued a statement in response to Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy vowing to remove himself from the GOP’s primary ballot in the state until Trump was allowed on.
“You won’t have to because we will withdraw from the Primary as a party and convert to a pure caucus system if this is allowed to stand,” the party wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
You won't have to because we will withdraw from the Primary as a Party and convert to a pure caucus system if this is allowed to stand.
— Colorado Republican Party (@cologop) December 20, 2023
“A majority of the court holds that President Trump is disqualified from holding the office of President under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution,” the justices wrote in the ruling. “Because he is disqualified, it would be a wrongful act under the Election Code for the Colorado Secretary of State to list him as a candidate on the presidential primary ballot.”
The ruling from the justices comes after Judge Sarah Wallace ruled in November that Trump was not an “office of the United States” who is disqualified from holding office and that he should be placed on the ballot.
Wallace also ruled Trump had “engaged in an insurrection on January 6, 2021, through incitement.”
The decision from the Colorado Supreme Court has sparked criticism and outrage among various members of Congress. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) issued a statement, which blasted
the ruling as being “nothing but a thinly veiled partisan attack.”
“Regardless of political affiliation, every citizen registered to vote should not be denied the right to support our former president and the individual who is the leader in every poll of the Republican primary,” Johnson said. “We trust the U.S. Supreme Court will set aside this reckless decision and let the American people decide the next President of the United States.”
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) issued a three-page bill that would withhold federal election funds from states that misuse the 14th Amendment for a political agenda and other reasons.
Rep. Dave Williams (R-Colo.), the chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, labeled the ruling “absurd” in an interview with CNN.
“We’re going to do whatever we can to protect the rights of voters in Colorado, and frankly across the nation who choose Donald Trump if they so choose,” Williams said.
