NEW: Judge Rules Trump to Remain on Washington State Primary, General Ballots

By Ward Clark | 5:47 PM on January 18, 2024

The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of RedState.com.

On Tuesday in the state of Washington, Superior Court Judge Mary Sue Wilson rejected a suit to remove former President Donald Trump from both that state's primary and general election ballots. The challenge to Trump's presence on the ballot was yet another bid to remove the former President on 14th Amendment grounds.

Wilson said she found Secretary of State Steve Hobbs (D) “acted consistent with his duties” during the process of making the candidate lists based on the parties’ submissions, the secretary of state’s office confirmed.
“An order directing the secretary of state to take different action, an order from this court, is simply not supported by the statutes and not supported by the affidavit of the electors,” Wilson said in her ruling.
Hobbs in a statement Thursday said he is “grateful” Wilson acknowledged he and his staff “have been working in full compliance” with the state’s laws for the presidential primary.

A similar case in Colorado is currently on hold awaiting a U.S. Supreme Court decision. The Supreme Court will be holding hearings on the Colorado case in February.

Cases citing the 14th Amendment are based on Section 3 of that amendment, which states in part that no one shall be eligible for the Presidency if they:

...who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.

While the 14th Amendment tactic seems quite popular among Democrats, it begs the question as to how anyone might be considered to have "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" without an indictment or conviction; one would think a presumption of innocence and due process would apply. Reminder: Donald Trump has neither been indicted nor convicted of insurrection under 18 U.S. Code § 2383 - Rebellion or insurrection. Granted this amendment was drafted in the post-Civil War United States and was meant to apply to officers and officials of the former Confederacy, most of whom were eventually pardoned in any case.

The Biden Administration, in the person of Vice President Kamala Harris, whose intellectual capacities are established beyond any rational argument, has accused Republicans of trying to "silence voters," even as the Democrats try to silence Republican voters by removing the front-running Republican Presidential candidate from ballots; if that's not ironic, then nothing is.

Washington Republicans, as can be expected, cheered the judge's Thursday decision.

State Rep. Jim Walsh, chair of the Washington State Republican Party, celebrated the court ruling on social media.
“Some people will say this is about Trump, we say it’s about the democratic process,” Walsh wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “And a win for democracy today.”

Printing of Washington ballots will now proceed, with former President Trump's name included.