Donald Trump scored a victory Wednesday in his fight against challenges to his White House eligibility when Michigan’s highest court declined to hear a case seeking to disqualify him from the state’s presidential primary ballot.
The Michigan Supreme Court says it will not hear an appeal from four state electors seeking to exclude the former president from the Feb. 27 Republican primary for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
Voters argued that Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination in 2024, could not serve as president under a provision of the U.S. Constitution that bars people from holding office if they engage in “an insurrection or rebellion” after taking the oath of office in the United States.
“We are not persuaded that the issues presented should be considered by this Court,” the justices said in a brief order.
Trump, in a post on his Truth Social site, said the court “strongly and rightly denied” what he called a “desperate attempt by Democrats” to remove him from the Michigan ballot.
An attorney representing the voters did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Michigan’s decision contrasts with a decision last week by Colorado’s highest court to disqualify Trump under the same constitutional provision, known as Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. Trump has vowed to appeal the Colorado decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Unlike Colorado, the Michigan Supreme Court has not ruled on whether Trump engaged in an insurrection. The justices upheld lower court rulings concluding that the courts should not decide the issue.
Unlike challenges to the 14th Amendment brought in some other states, Michigan is considered one of the key states that could decide the outcome of the November 2024 general election.
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