Former President Donald Trump, who according to polls is the clear frontrunner to win the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, will appear on the 2024 primary ballot in California.
Last week California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis pressed California Secretary of State Shirley Weber to “explore every legal option to remove” Trump from the presidential primary ballot. Kounalakis has her sights set on winning the governorship in the Golden State’s 2026 gubernatorial contest.
But this week Weber released the certified list of candidates who will be on primary ballots, and the list includes Trump.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Weber said she considers Trump’s “behavior and his actions, not just as a former president, but as a citizen of the United States, to be abhorrent and disturbing and an attack on democracy.”
“But at the same time, if I believe in this democracy that is there, I have to basically continue to abide by the rule of law, and for me not to do that, then I am no better than Trump,” she noted, according to the outlet. “And I must be better than Trump.”
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows has moved to block Trump from the primary ballot in that state, though she also suspended the effect of her decision.
“I find that the primary petition of Mr. Trump is invalid,” she wrote in her ruling. “I will suspend the effect of my decision until the Superior Court rules on any appeal, or the time to appeal … has expired.”
The Colorado Supreme Court declared that Trump should not be included on the primary ballot, but stayed its decision until January 4, noting that “If review is sought in the Supreme Court before the stay expires, it shall remain in place, and the Secretary will continue to be required to include President Trump’s name on the 2024 presidential primary ballot until the receipt of any order or mandate from the Supreme Court.”
The Colorado Republican Party has sought Supreme Court review.
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