Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom defended keeping former President Donald Trump on the California ballot for the 2024 election.
Newsom told Democrats from his state in a Friday statement to not jump ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court by supporting efforts to remove the GOP frontrunner from the ballot, Politico reported.
“There is no doubt that Donald Trump is a threat to our liberties and even to our democracy,” Newsom said, “but in California, we defeat candidates at the polls. Everything else is a political distraction.”
California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis wrote a letter to the state’s secretary of state, Shirley Weber, demanding Trump be removed from the ballot for the 2024 election. Kounalakis, who is running for California governor in 2026, asked Weber to “explore every legal option.”
Democratic state Sen. Dave Min said he would introduce a bill allowing California residence to sue to block ineligible candidates, Politico reported. This followed the decision of Colorado’s Supreme Court to allow the removal of former President Trump from its ballot. (RELATED: ‘It Really Helps Donald Trump’: Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill Says Colorado Supreme Court Made ‘Real Bad Decision’)
NEW: CA governor Gavin Newsom is *defending* Donald Trump after the Colorado Supreme Court voted to remove him from their ballot.
Finding Democrats who still support democracy is rare these days.
The comment from Newsom came days after Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis called on the… pic.twitter.com/JuvlwZIk7f
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 23, 2023
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled 4-3 Tuesday that Trump violated the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist ban” and is therefore ineligible to be on the ballot in the state. The ruling is on hold until Jan. 4, pending an appeal to the Supreme Court. The issue must be settled by Jan. 5, the statutory deadline to set the list of candidates for the Republican primary.
Some Colorado constituents were not thrilled about the decision to remove Trump from their state’s ballot. Several voters from the state told CNN on Thursday the court’s ruling was “unfair” and accused the justices of playing politics.