Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy vowed to withdraw from the Colorado GOP primary in protest over the state’s Supreme Court ruling removing former President Trump from the ballot.
The court ruled 4-3 that the 45th president cannot be on the Republican ballot under the 14th Amendment’s “insurrection clause” over his role in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
“I pledge to withdraw from the Colorado GOP primary unless Trump is also allowed to be on the state’s ballot, and I demand that Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie, and Nikki Haley to do the same immediately — or else they are tacitly endorsing this illegal maneuver which will have disastrous consequences for our country,” Ramaswamy said in a statemen.
“This is what an *actual* attack on democracy looks like: in an un-American, unconstitutional, and *unprecedented* decision, a cabal of Democrat judges are barring Trump from the ballot in Colorado,” he added.
The Colorado Republican Party said he wouldn't have to, however, because it would withdraw from the primary as a party.
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
The court pushed its ruling to Jan. 4 to allow Trump to seek review from the Supreme Court, which his campaign plans to do.
“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,” said Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump’s campaign.
“We have full confidence that the U.S. Supreme Court will quickly rule in our favor and finally put an end to these unAmerican lawsuits,” he added.
According to CNN Supreme Court analyst and law professor Steve Vladeck, the court's decision will remain paused if Trump asks the Supreme Court to weigh in, meaning he will “almost certainly” stay on the ballot for the March 5 primary.