California’s Democrat Secretary of State, Shirley Weber, has stood firm against pressure from the Left to exclude President Donald Trump from the Republican primary ballot. Some prominent California Democrats have been advocating for the denial of the state’s voters’ right to choose Trump in the 2024 election, citing President Joe Biden’s declining popularity in the polls.
Last week, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, a Democrat, urged Weber to follow the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to remove Trump from the ballot. Kounalakis falsely argued that the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause disqualifies Trump from holding office. However, there is no record of Trump being convicted of an “insurrection,” and no such attempts to overthrow the government occurred during his time in politics. Weber responded to Kounalakis’ request without confirming whether she would comply with it.
However, the secretary of state’s office recently released the list of certified candidates, which includes Trump’s name on the ballot. While Weber did not comment on her refusal to heed some Democrats’ demands, she did address the issue in a letter to Kounalakis last week.
“Removing a candidate from the ballot under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment is not something my office takes lightly and is not as simple as the requirement that a person be at least 35 years old to be president,” she wrote.
Several prominent California Democrats, including Kounalakis, expressed their support for the removal of Trump from the ballot. However, Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat himself, did not endorse this proposal aimed at safeguarding democracy and restricting voters’ options. Newsom, who is often mentioned as a potential future Democratic presidential candidate, strongly criticized the notion of excluding Trump from the primary ballot.
“There is no doubt that Donald Trump is a threat to our liberties and even to our democracy,” Newsom claimed.
“But in California, we defeat candidates at the polls.
“Everything else is a political distraction.”
In the meantime, Trump has been reinstated on the ballot in Colorado temporarily, following an appeal by the state’s Republican Party to the U.S. Supreme Court.
According to the office of Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, Trump, who is currently the frontrunner for the Republican Party, will remain on the state’s ballot unless the Supreme Court decides not to take the case or confirms the ruling of the Colorado Supreme Court. This announcement was made on Thursday.
However, shortly after Trump’s reinstatement on Colorado’s ballot, another Democratic-leaning state removed him from its primary ballot. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows stated on Thursday that Trump is “disqualified” from participating in the state’s primary. Bellows is making the deceptive argument that Trump violated the insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment due to his actions leading up to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Trump’s team strongly criticized Maine’s decision to remove the leading candidate of the Republican Party from the ballot and vowed to pursue legal action. In a statement, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung expressed their dissatisfaction with Maine’s move and stated their intention to take legal measures.
“We will quickly file a legal objection in state court to prevent this atrocious decision in Maine from taking effect, and President Trump will never stop fighting to Make America Great Again.”
Trump is presently dominating the Republican candidates in national primary polls with a substantial lead of more than 50 points. Additionally, he is surpassing President Joe Biden by approximately two points, as indicated by the most recent Real Clear Politics average.
The commencement of the 2024 primary season will be marked by the Iowa caucuses on January 15, followed by the New Hampshire primary on January 23.
