LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- A federal judge in Nevada dismissed a lawsuit on Monday that challenged former Republican President Donald Trump's run for his old job.
The decision clears the legal challenges to Trump's candidacy in Nevada. A previous lawsuit by Republicans that challenged the mandatory primary was dropped earlier.
But the dismissal doesn't actually address the question surrounding Trump's eligibility under the 14th Amendment. Lawsuits in Colorado and Maine are continuing, and the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to review Colorado's decision to remove Trump from the ballot.
U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro found that John Anthony Castro, a presidential candidate from Texas, lacks standing to challenge Trump's eligibility to run for president. Agreeing with several previous rulings in other federal courts, Navarro said that Castro was manufacturing the conditions that led to the lawsuit. Castro had openly admitted to The Associated Press that he was running for office solely to file the federal lawsuits.
Because federal courts can only rule on cases where the plaintiff has been "injured" -- in this case, the likelihood that Trump's name on the primary ballot would hurt Castro's chance of winning -- Navarro said Castro lacked standing, and therefore the court could not rule on the lawsuit.
A footnote on page 3 of Navarro's order to dismiss points out that Castro and Trump won't even be competing on the same ballot because Trump is participating in the Republican caucus, not the primary. Nevada Republicans are choosing their candidate based on the Feb. 8 caucus, not the Feb. 6 primary. The party has informed candidates that anyone who runs in the primary will be ineligible for delegates.
The 14th Amendment's insurrection clause prohibits anyone from holding office if they have "engaged in insurrection" after swearing to support the Constitution.
A statement from Trump's campaign called the dismissal "a victory for all Americans and the people of Nevada." The full statement appears below:
"Today’s dismissal of another bogus, bad-faith, Crooked Joe Biden-engineered attempt to deprive Americans as a whole, and the voters of Nevada specifically, of their right to vote for the candidate of their choice is not only a victory for President Trump, but a victory for all Americans and the people of Nevada. President Trump remains undefeated in federal court against these cynical efforts to interfere in the 2024 election. Courts in eleven states have now dismissed similar, pathetic, 14th Amendment ballot cases. Make no mistake, each and every one of these 'ballot-challenges' are blatant attempts to steal the election for Crooked Joe Biden and disenfranchise over 100 million American voters. President Trump is the leading candidate for not only the Republican primary, but the general election and his opponents are desperate. Rest assured that he will fight each and every one of these disgraceful attacks on American democracy, he will win, and we will all Make America Great Again.”
Steven Cheung, Trump Spokesman