Day: January 15, 2024

Data: Lawfare; Note: “Challenge dismissed” includes challenges that were voluntarily dismissed. New challenges could be brought in states that previously issued dismissals; Map: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals

Time is ticking for more than a dozen states to resolve 14th Amendment challenges to former President Trump’s 2024 candidacy before the Republican primary kicks into high gear.

Why it matters: Colorado and Maine last month disqualified Trump from the ballot over his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, in bombshell decisions that put questions over a largely untested provision before the Supreme Court.

Driving the news: The Supreme Court agreed Friday to take up Trump’s appeal in Colorado and consider whether he can appear on the state’s primary ballot.

• The high court’s ruling could determine whether the former president and GOP front-runner can be disqualified from the ballot across the country.

Zoom in: Challenges in more than 30 states have been filed citing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which holds that nobody should hold office if they “engaged in insurrection” or have “given aid or comfort” to insurrectionists.

• More than a dozen of the challenges are still awaiting a ruling or a decision on an appeal, according to the nonprofit publication Lawfare.
• Voters in two other states — Illinois and Massachusetts — filed 14th Amendment challenges to Trump’s candidacy as recently as last week.

Between the lines: Even if a challenge has been rejected in a state, it does not preclude other challenges from being brought in the same state in the future, Lawfare notes.

What they’re saying: Trump’s team has criticized the efforts to challenge his candidacy as election interference and has indicated he plans to appeal any rulings barring him from the ballot.

• “We have full confidence that the U.S. Supreme Court will quickly rule in our favor and finally put an end to these un-American lawsuits,” Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said after the Colorado ruling.

What to watch: The Republican primary begins with the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 15. Other states’ deadlines to finalize primary ballots are fast approaching.

• Oregon could be the next state to weigh in on Trump’s candidacy. The state’s Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling in the coming weeks before the state’s March 21 deadline to finalize the primary ballot.

Go deeper: Congress erupts after court disqualifies Trump from Colorado ballot