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California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis urged Secretary of State Shirley Weber to "explore every legal option" to remove former President Donald Trump from the state's 2024 presidential primary ballot.
The Colorado Supreme Court's 4-3 ruling determined that Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination, is ineligible to appear on the state's ballot over his alleged role in the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Critics allege that his speech to his supporters that morning culminated in the violent protest in which his supporters illegally entered the Capitol building in an attempt to block Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's Electoral College victory.
The court ruled Tuesday that his actions violated Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment, barring any individual from holding federal or state office who has "engaged in insurrection."
Officials in California are now considering removing Trump from their state's primary ballot using the ruling. Kounalakis urged Weber to explore what legal action the state can take in a letter sent on Wednesday.
"California must stand on the right side of history," she wrote. "California is obligated to determine if Trump is ineligible for the California ballot for the same reasons described in [Anderson v. Griswold]. The Colorado decision can be the basis for a similar decision here in our state."
A spokesperson for Kounalakis' office referred to a press release of the letter when reached by Newsweek.
Newsweek also reached out to Trump's campaign and Weber's office via email for comment.
The Colorado Supreme Court's ruling applies only to the March 5 primary but could eventually affect his ability to run on the general election ballot. California and Colorado are both viewed as safe Democratic states, making it unlikely Trump would win there regardless, but he does face ballot challenges in more competitive states.
After the Michigan Supreme Court and the state Court of Appeals allowed Trump to remain on the ballot, the liberal Free Speech for the People appealed the ruling.
Steven Cheung, spokesperson for Trump's campaign, vowed to file an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and slammed the Colorado court's decision in a statement previously reported by Newsweek.
"Unsurprisingly, the all-Democrat appointed Colorado Supreme Court has ruled against President Trump, supporting a Soros-funded, left-wing group's scheme to interfere in an election on behalf of Crooked Joe Biden by removing President Trump's name from the ballot and eliminating the rights of Colorado voters to vote for the candidate of their choice," Cheung said in a statement.
Mario Nicolais, an attorney for the six Colorado voters who brought the lawsuit challenging Trump's candidacy, told the BBC that other states could take similar action following the Colorado ruling.
"When you take this particular ruling and other states could use to it to say 'OK well we're going to bar him now' or 'we find that this decision is persuasive in our state as well' and that could have a snowball effect," he said Wednesday.
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About the writer
Andrew Stanton is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in Maine. His role is reporting on U.S. politics and social issues. ... Read more