Former President Donald Trump has won a major victory in Colorado’s Republican primary on Super Tuesday, gathering a whopping 57.9 percent of the vote.
Trump has won all 37 of the Centennial State’s delegates, bringing his total to 297. Meanwhile, his opponent Nikki Haley lags behind with 43 total delegates.
Trump’s win in Colorado comes just one day after the Supreme Court overturned a state ruling from December that Trump was not eligible to be president because he violated the insurrection clause, Section 3, of the 14th Amendment.
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that states don’t have the ability to bar him — or any other federal candidates — from the ballot under a rarely-used constitutional provision that prohibits those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office.
The decision shuts down a push in dozens of states to end Trump’s candidacy through Section 3, written to prevent former Confederates from serving in government after the Civil War.
READ MORE: Supreme Court ruling shows ‘hurdles are disappearing’ for Donald Trump
The court’s decision also stopped efforts to kick Trump off the ballot in Illinois, Maine and other states. Had the Supreme Court let the Colorado ruling stand, it could have triggered a new wave of litigation that might have left Trump disqualified in many states.
The high court avoided addressing that politically contentious issue of whether Trump played a role in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol that would have barred him from seeking office. The ruling is almost devoid of references to January 6 or insurrection, and doesn’t address whether Trump committed such an act by sparking the attack on the Capitol.
Instead it focuses on the technical, procedural question of who gets to decide an election challenge under Section 3.
All nine justices agreed that is the purview of Congress. But a narrower majority of five went further, ruling it can only be done through legislation. That exposes significant splits underneath the unanimous majority, and points toward the greatest uncertainty the ruling creates.
DON’T MISS:
Super Tuesday is the most important day of the election yet for Trump, who is hoping to solidify his position as the GOP nominee as soon as next week.
Elections on Tuesday are being held in 16 states and one territory — from Alaska and California to Vermont and Virginia. Hundreds of delegates are at stake, the biggest haul for either party on any single day.
The spotlight, however, remains on President Joe Biden and Trump, who continue to dominate their parties despite both facing questions about their age and neither commanding broad popularity across the general electorate.
The earliest either can become his party’s presumptive nominee is March 12 for Trump and March 19 for Biden.
Follow our social media accounts here on facebook.com/ExpressUSNews and @expressusnews
