Can Trump Still Win in 2024 If He's Kicked Off Colorado Ballot?

As former President Donald Trump's electoral fate in Colorado now hinges on the U.S. Supreme Court, questions swirl over how his ouster from the 2024 GOP presidential primary ballot in the Centennial State would impact his chances of regaining the White House.

The Colorado Supreme Court's 4-3 ruling determined that the MAGA leader isn't an eligible presidential candidate because he participated in an insurrection, violating Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. This Civil War-era clause bars any individual from holding federal or state office who has "engaged in insurrection."

Critics had argued for months that Trump should be ineligible for the 2024 ballot, accusing him of motivating those who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, with his baseless claims of election fraud after his loss to President Joe Biden.

Prior to Tuesday's state Supreme Court ruling, a lower court judge in Colorado already agreed that Trump engaged in insurrection through encouraging the Capitol attack and seeking to overthrow the 2020 election result. Trump appealed the insurrection ruling and has repeatedly said that he did no wrongdoing related to January 6.

In an emailed statement to Newsweek on Tuesday, Steven Cheung, spokesperson for Trump's campaign, pledged to file an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Cheung called the ruling a "scheme to interfere in an election," intended to help Biden win reelection in 2024.

"Unsurprisingly, the all-Democrat appointed Colorado Supreme Court has ruled against President Trump, supporting a Soros-funded, left-wing group's scheme to interfere in an election on behalf of Crooked Joe Biden by removing President Trump's name from the ballot and eliminating the rights of Colorado voters to vote for the candidate of their choice," Cheung said.

A spokesperson for the Colorado Supreme Court declined Newsweek's request for interview and comment Tuesday.

Along with rejecting Trump's free-speech claims, the majority in the Colorado Supreme Court decision also highlighted why they believed he participated in an insurrection.

"President Trump did not merely incite the insurrection," the unsigned opinion from the majority said. "Even when the siege on the Capitol was fully underway, he continued to support it by repeatedly demanding that Vice President [ Mike] Pence refuse to perform his constitutional duty and by calling Senators to persuade them to stop the counting of electoral votes. These actions constituted overt, voluntary, and direct participation in the insurrection."

The result of Tuesday's ruling in Colorado will be held, pending the results of Trump's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

If Trump is removed from the Colorado ballot, it would end his chances of winning a state in the 2024 presidential election that has nine Electoral College votes. However, being removed from Colorado's ballot won't necessarily stop Trump, the front-runner in the race for the GOP presidential nomination, from returning to the White House.

Colorado is an increasingly Democratic state that gave Biden a double-digit victory in the 2020 election. It means Trump is unlikely to win the state, regardless if he is barred from the ballot. However, if other states reach the same conclusion as Colorado, it weakens Trump's chances of amassing the necessary 270 Electoral College votes required to win the presidency.

The former president is facing legal battles to remain on the presidential ballot in several other states. In Arizona and Michigan, efforts to deem Trump ineligible have so far been unsuccessful, with plaintiffs in the latter on Monday filing an appeal to the state high court. New Hampshire is also among the states fielding challenges to Trump's candidacy.

Like Colorado, the challengers who filed lawsuits in the other three states mentioned cite the 14th Amendment and argue that Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results were an attempted insurrection, prohibiting him from holding elected office again.