Maine and Colorado have decided to remove former President Donald Trump from its presidential primary ballots. Is California next?
California’s Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, a Democrat who oversees elections in the Golden State, announced that Trump will remain on the state’s March 5 presidential primary ballot despite other state officials calling for his removal mainly due to the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, a Democrat who is running for governor in 2026, previously called on Weber to “explore every legal option” to remove Trump from the ballot.
In September, a group of state lawmakers wrote a letter to Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, asking his office to ask the court if Trump could appear on the primary ballot.
Weber’s announcement comes after Shenna Bellows, a Democrat serving as Maine’s secretary of state, and the Colorado Supreme Court decided to remove the former president from the ballot.
The U.S. Supreme Court will likely decide if states have the authority to remove presidential candidates from the ballot, the Associated Press reported.
A November UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies survey shows that Trump has support from 57% of likely Republican voters in California.
During the summer, the California Republican Party changed its rules. The rules now state that anyone who receives more than 50% of the votes will receive all of California’s 169 delegates, the most of any state.