Trump scores victory in Colorado GOP primary after winning ballot fight

Former President Trump was projected to win Colorado’s Republican primary, according to Decision Desk HQ, scoring a win in a state that had moved to kick him off the ballot. 

Trump easily beat rival Nikki Haley with the backing of the state GOP, adding to his early state victories — though Haley notched a primary win Washington, D.C., over the weekend. 

Colorado was the first state to disqualify Trump under the 14th Amendment, arguing the former president violated the “insurrection clause” with his actions surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. 

But the Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Monday that the state doesn’t have the unilateral authority to disqualify federal candidates — handing Trump a boost just a day before the Super Tuesday contest.  

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) said in a statement on Monday that Trump is “an eligible candidate” in the state’s 2024 presidential primary, though she wrote in a separate post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that she is “disappointed” in the justices’ 9-0 decision.

On the GOP side, 37 delegates are up for grabs in Colorado as Trump climbs toward the 1,215 he would need to score the Republican nod.

A January survey from The Rocky Mountaineer found President Biden, the Democratic front-runner, beating Trump by 8 points among registered Colorado voters in a hypothetical general election match-up in the state.