Former President Donald Trump won the New Hampshire primary, further cementing his path to become the Republican nominee.
But even with a second dominant victory, Trump could run out of luck if the Supreme Court rules in favor of his opponents trying to kick him off the Republican primary election ballot. In advance of a Feb. 8 oral argument on his eligibility, Trump has urged the highest-court to reverse the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to bar him from appearing on the state’s primary ballot.
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Last month, a divided Colorado Supreme Court declared Trump ineligible to appear on the state ballot, under the 14 Amendment’s insurrection clause, which prevents people who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office, citing Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
The decision marked the first time in history that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment has been used to disqualify a presidential candidate. Less than two weeks later, Maine‘s Democratic secretary of state followed suit, becoming the first state official to remove Trump from the state’s presidential primary ballot.
State Republicans and Trump appealed the decision and Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said he’ll appear on the ballot on March 5 unless the Supreme Court sides with the state supreme court.
The Supreme Court agreed earlier this month to weigh in on whether Trump can be barred from Colorado’s Republican primary ballot — a decision that will shape the 2024 landscape as dozens of states have similar pending lawsuits against the former president regarding their primaries. If the nation’s highest court sides with the Colorado Supreme Court, and the ruling applies to the general election as well as the primary, Trump cannot be the Republican nominee.
Many legal experts assume the Supreme Court will issue a decision favorable to Trump, as allowing state officials to determine whether a presidential candidate can be barred from office under the 14th Amendment opens a can of worms. Trump also had a massive influence on the nation’s highest court during his first-term, appointing the most justices since Ronald Reagan, who confirmed four.
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The highest-court will consider a number of legal questions about how Section 3 of the 14th Amendment applies to this case, including whether the presidency is covered by the provision. The court isn’t expected to examine whether Trump’s actions leading up to and on Jan. 6, 2021, constitute engaging in an insurrection.
With Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) out, the GOP primary is a two-person race between former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Trump. So far, the former president has swept Iowa with 51% of the votes, and 54.5% in New Hampshire, according to the Associated Press. His winning streak lies in the hands of the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the 14th Amendment.