Colorado GOP Will Move to Caucus System If Trump Decision Stands

The Colorado Republican Party on Wednesday rallied around Donald Trump after the state supreme court ruled the former president was ineligible for reelection because he stoked an insurrection Jan. 6, 2021, saying it would withdraw from the primary election and move to a caucus system if the ruling stands.

"We think this is an absurd ruling and we're going to do whatever we can to protect the rights of voters in Colorado and frankly, across the nation, if they choose Donald Trump," Dave Williams, chair of the Colorado Republican Party, told CNN.

"But we're going to appeal this to the United States Supreme Court. We're a party to the case, and we're not going to take this lying down and, if need be, we're going to withdraw from the primary and go to a strict caucus process that would allow our voters to choose Donald Trump if they want," he added.

A divided Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday declared Trump ineligible for the White House under the U.S. Constitution's insurrection clause and removed him from the state's presidential primary ballot, setting up a likely showdown in the nation's highest court to decide whether the front-runner for the GOP nomination can remain in the race.

The decision from a court whose justices were all appointed by Democrat governors marks the first time in history that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment has been used to disqualify a presidential candidate.

Trump has vowed to appeal the state high court's 4-3 decision.

GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy on Wednesday pledged to withdraw if the disqualification of Trump is sustained.

"I pledge to withdraw from the Colorado GOP primary ballot until Trump is also allowed to be on the ballot," Ramaswamy said in a video Tuesday.

"And I demand that Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie, and Nikki Haley do the same immediately — or else they are tacitly endorsing this illegal maneuver, which will have disastrous consequences for our country."

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