Donald Trump Banned from Colorado Ballot by State's Supreme Court

The Colorado State Supreme Court has disqualified former President Donald Trump from the Republican primary ballot. The decision is a major blow to the GOP front-runner and could set a precedent for other states.

The unprecedented Colorado high court decision came on a narrow 4-3 vote, with justices ruling the former president is barred from the ballot for violating the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution for activity related to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Section Three is the insurrection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. It disqualifies a candidate from holding office if they took an oath to uphold the constitution and then engaged in "insurrection or rebellion."

Trump ignored the Colorado ruling during an Iowa campaign stop Tuesday night but reminded voters of what he claims is an ongoing witch hunt against him

"They want to silence me because I will never let them silence you and in the end, they're not after me, they're after you," he explained.

One of Trump's biggest critics in the Republican presidential field, Chris Christie said he "does not believe Donald Trump should be prevented from being president of the United States by any court." 

GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said he'll withdraw from the Colorado state primary until Trump is allowed on the ballot and he's challenging the rest of the Republican field to do the same.

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Before the ruling, Trump attorney Scott Gessler argued the state justices should allow voters to make up their minds about Donald Trump.

"It's the people of the United States of America who get to make those decisions, not six voters in Colorado," he insisted.

Trump is set to appeal the ruling to the United States Supreme Court.

The court has never ruled before on the clause created 150 years ago to prevent confederates from holding office after the Civil War.

Associated Press political writer Nicholas Riccardi in Colorado said since then, it has only been used in the Jan. 6 attacks.

"If the Supreme Court upholds the Colorado decision, it's obviously the end for Trump's political career. He can't run for office again in the United States," Riccardi explained.

The high court must decide if it will hear the case, and if so, it must rule by Jan. 5, when Colorado primary ballots are scheduled for printing.

Another Trump case, this one was taken to the U.S. Supreme Court by Special Counsel Jack Smith, who asked the court to expedite a hearing on Trump's argument that he has presidential immunity in an election interference case. 

All these cases don't seem to be hurting Trump with Republican voters.  In Iowa, the latest poll shows him leading other Republicans by 50%.  

Nationally, he is the GOP front-runner by a wide margin with nearly 63% of the vote. 

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