Trump Loses First Bid Against Lawsuit Seeking to Kick Him Off the Presidential Ballot in Colorado

Donald Trump is currently the runaway front-runner for the GOP nomination. But at present, there are a few things that could potentially result in him not actually facing off with Joe Biden in the general election. One them is the 91 felony counts he his facing, which could conceivably result in him going to prison. (While he could, incredibly, still run from behind bars, it would probably be very difficult.) Another is the prospect of him suddenly deciding that politics just doesn’t move him the way it once did, and that he’d prefer a quiet life at Mar-a-Lago away from the chaos of Washington. (A long shot, but, hey, stranger things have happened!) Finally, there’s the possibility that he’ll make it to the general, but not appear on the ballot in several states—and while the odds of this happening appear low, they received a boost this week.

That boost occurred when Colorado district judge Sarah Wallace rejected the ex-president’s bid to throw out a lawsuit seeking to block him from Colorado’s 2024 presidential ballot. The suit is based on the 14th Amendment’s prohibition on people who have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” or have “given aid or comfort” to insurrectionists from holding public office. Trump had argued that the lawsuit violates his right to free speech, an argument Wallace was not buying.

“The Court has no difficulty concluding that it is to the benefit of the general public that, regardless of political affiliation, only constitutionally qualified candidates are placed on the ballot,” Wallace wrote in her response. She noted that settling the question of Trump’s eligibility to make the ballot is hugely important because he is attempting to be elected to “the highest office in the country” and “the disqualification sought is based on allegations of insurrection against the very government over which the candidate seeks to preside.”

A trial date has been set for October 30, with Colorado officials saying the matter must be resolved before January 5, when the state starts printing ballots for the March 5 Republican primary. Trump is facing similar suits Minnesota and Michigan.

As CNN notes, at this time, the odds of Trump actually being left off the ballot seem pretty slim:

>In recent months, a growing and bipartisan array of constitutional scholars and former jurists have thrown their support behind the theory. But experts on both sides have also expressed concern that blocking Trump from the ballot could lead to a backlash and would deprive voters the chance to decide for themselves who should be president.

>Legal scholars are also split on how the 14th Amendment could be applied to Trump and how the ban would be implemented—whether by state officials, Congress or a court—given the existing ambiguities in the law.

Many believe the Supreme Court—one third of which was appointed by Trump—will likely weigh in.

GOP congressional shit show has somehow not changed Republican voters’ view of the GOP

Oh, so now it’s the job of lawmakers to—checks notes—get laws passed??