Former President Donald Trump scored an unexpected legal victory Friday in the far-left state of Oregon, of all places.
The Oregon Supreme Court declined to hear a case challenging Trump’s eligibility on the state’s 2024 presidential ballot.
“The court opted to defer any decision on the merits of his eligibility until after the U.S. Supreme Court considers a similar challenge out of Colorado,” according to The New York Times.
“Because a decision by the United States Supreme Court regarding the Fourteenth Amendment issue may resolve one or more contentions that relators make in the Oregon proceeding, the Oregon Supreme Court denied their petition,” a press release from the court reads.
JUST IN: The Oregon Supreme Court won’t hear a case challenging Trump’s eligibility for the 2024 ballot, saying there’s no authority for it at the primary stage.
They leave the door open to revisit the issue after SCOTUS rules. pic.twitter.com/97OdIbgP01
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) January 12, 2024
The original suit was filed by Free Speech for People, a national advocacy group that’s reportedly also launched suits in Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Minnesota.
The group asked the Oregon high court to force Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade, a Democrat, to remove Trump from the presidential ballot.
To her credit, Griffin-Valade pushed back, arguing that she lacked the authority and that right now the elections are in the primary phase, meaning it’s not the right time to mess with the general election ballot.
“Oregon law does not give me the authority to determine the qualifications of candidates in a presidential primary,” she said, according to Willamette Week. “I will follow our usual process and expect to put Donald Trump on the primary ballot unless a court directs me otherwise.”
Her office later released a statement explaining her rationale in more detail.
“State law treats presidential primary elections differently than other elections where the secretary has the authority to disqualify a candidate,” the statement read.
“In a presidential primary, voters are not deciding who will hold office or even who will go on the general election ballot. Instead, they are communicating their preference to party delegates who choose a nominee at the party’s nominating convention,” it continued.
We’re calling on SOS LaVonne Griffin Valade to issue a rule that Trump is constitutionally ineligible to appear on any future Oregon ballot for nomination to federal office under sect 3 of the 14th Amendment. https://t.co/BihG67OUPV
— Free Speech For People (@FSFP) November 22, 2023
Trump’s campaign celebrated the Oregon high court’s decision.
“Today’s decision in Oregon was the correct one,” Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement. “President Trump urges the swift dismissal of all remaining, bad-faith, election interference 14th Amendment ballot challenges.”
But there is one catch. The Oregon Supreme Court also says that the five Oregon voters whom Free Speech for People represented may file a brand new case after the Supreme Court makes its final ruling.
As for Free Speech For People, they’re, not surprisingly, upset by Friday’s decision.
“The Oregon Supreme Court’s decision not to decide is disappointing,” the group said in a statement. “Waiting until the U.S. Supreme Court issues its order only compresses the time that the Oregon Supreme Court may have to resolve the issues that may remain.”
The OR Supreme Court issued a temporary ruling in our challenge to Trump’s candidacy under the Insurrectionist Disqualification Clause. Here are three key takeaways:
— Free Speech For People (@FSFP) January 12, 2024
1) The Oregon Supreme Court’s decision not to decide is disappointing.
— Free Speech For People (@FSFP) January 12, 2024
2) It did not rule against any of the merits, it simply said that it wishes to wait until the U.S. Supreme Court decides a related case.
— Free Speech For People (@FSFP) January 12, 2024
3) it did not say that January 6 was not an “insurrection”; it did not say that Trump did not “engage” in it; it did not say that Sec 3 doesn’t apply to him; it did not say that Congress must pass a law to enforce Sec 3; and it did not say that OR cannot enforce Sec 3 on its own.
— Free Speech For People (@FSFP) January 12, 2024
Read our full statement here: https://t.co/XkuvaOuK2t
— Free Speech For People (@FSFP) January 12, 2024
The good news is that even if Free Speech for People does eventually win in Oregon, it wouldn’t make much of a difference.
“The impact of potentially removing Trump from the primary ballot may be limited,” CNN notes. “Oregon is one of the final states to hold its GOP contest, so the nomination race may be decided by then.”
“And Oregon’s GOP delegates will be allocated based on the results of a vote at the state party convention on May 25, according to the Republican National Committee,” according to CNN.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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