By James Oliphant and Nandita Bose
WASHINGTON, December 20 (Reuters) – The latest legal challenge to Donald Trump’s campaign for a second term as president looks likely to give the 2024 Republican front-runner even more firepower in his quest to win his party’s nomination.
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that the former president was barred from his state ballot for engaging in “sedition” due to a a rarely used constitutional provisionan unprecedented decision that the conservative-led US Supreme Court could overturn.
Donors and political analysts from both major parties said the ruling would inflame Trump’s political base, fuel his argument that he is the victim of a partisan legal process and fill his campaign coffers, as it did earlier this year when he was accused of set of criminal charges for trying to nullify the 2020 election among other alleged crimes. These charges did not include rebellion.
“Trump is celebrating,” said John Morgan, a Florida attorney and key fundraiser for President Joe Biden, a Democrat. He predicted a “fundraising bonanza” for the Republican.
Trump has promised to appeal to the US Supreme Court the Colorado decision that the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution prohibits him from seeking office. The 6-3 conservative majority of the supreme court includes three Trump appointees.
His campaign urged supporters to donate to fight back against what it called a “tyrannical” decision.
Trump, 77, has a slight lead over Biden nationally in a head-to-head matchup ahead of the Nov. 5, 2024 election, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll.
The Colorado ruling could help Democrats appeal to key independent voters who believe Trump has engaged in insurgency.
In a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted from December 5-11, 57% of independent voters said it was plausible that Trump “tried to incite a mob to attack the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.” Only 30% said it was incredible.
In contrast, about 70% of Republican respondents considered that accusation “not credible”, while 23% of Republicans said it was credible and the rest were not sure.
Asked Wednesday if Trump was a rebel, Biden said it was “self-evident. You’ve seen it all.”
“Whether the 14th Amendment applies or not, we’ll let the court make that decision,” Biden said. “But he definitely supported rebellion. There’s no question about it. None. Zero. And he seems to be doubling down on it.”
PRIMARY BOOST
Trump remains the overwhelming favorite for the Republican nomination and being banned in Colorado would not change that. The state, which has been leaning towards Democracy, is not seen as competitive in next year’s general election.
The decision came less than a month before the first Republican nomination contest begins in Iowa on January 15, putting the spotlight back on Trump at a time when former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley has gained some momentum.
Ford O’Connell, a Florida-based Republican strategist, said the ruling will reinforce Trump’s long-standing narrative that he is the victim of a politically motivated legal process and could push undecided Republican voters into his corner.
“If the allegations have propelled Trump to a significant lead in the primary, this will end any grassroots debate about who will be the 2024 Republican nominee,” O’Connell said.
As has happened with Trump’s previous court cases, Republican rivals for the nomination jumped to his defense rather than seek to profit from the Colorado decision.
“The Left invokes ‘democracy’ to justify its use of power, even if it means abusing judicial power to remove a candidate from the ballot based on bogus legal grounds,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wrote on X.
Haley called the action of the judges “really unthinkable.”
“I’m going to beat Donald Trump myself,” she told Fox News. “I don’t need a judge to take him off the ballot.”
In the 4-3 ruling, the majority of the Colorado court said they apply the law “without fear or favor, and without being influenced by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates that we reach.”
Biden was going after Trump more aggressively in recent months and said he might not run at all if he didn’t face Trump, who he says poses a unique threat to America.
Some of Biden’s aggressiveness comes after his propaganda on the economy has gone down well with voters, leading donors to push him to frame his 2024 campaign more directly as a fight against Trump.
In the unlikely event that some states knock Trump off the ballot, barring him from winning the nomination, Biden would not necessarily benefit.
Some polls showed both DeSantis and Haley would run a competitive race against the 81-year-old incumbent.
Hassan Martini, executive director of No Democrat Left Behind, an advocacy group that aims to win over rural voters, said Trump will try to use the ruling to his advantage and Biden needs to stay focused on strengths including economic progress, bipartisan outreach and steady leadership.
“Being caught in the trap of endless Trump debates would only benefit his opponents,” Martini said.
(Reporting by James Oliphant, Nandita Bose, Andrea Shalal, Alexandra Ulmer, Jason Lange, Nathan Layne, Steve Holland and Susan Heavey; Editing by Heather Timmons and Colleen Jenkins)
((james.oliphant@thomsonreuters.com; 202-834-0728; Reuters Messaging: james.oliphant.thomsonreuters@thomsonreuters.com))
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