SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) 鈥 Donald Trump is among a slate of presidential candidates New Mexico鈥檚 major political parties certified Friday to appear on the state鈥檚 June 4 primary ballots, amid uncertainty about whether any state can bar the former president from contention under anti-insurrection provisions of the U.S. Constitution.
Trump is among five contenders for the GOP nomination who a presidential primary nominating committee certified for New Mexico's primary ballot. The Republican Party reserved the option to withdraw candidates from the primary until mid-February if any drop out of national contention.
For now, the certified Republican candidates include former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former 麻豆传媒AV Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.
鈥淚f nobody drops out, fine, we鈥檒l keep it the way it is,鈥 state Republican Party Chairman Steve Pearce said.
New Mexico Supreme Court Chief Justice C. Shannon Bacon oversaw the committee meeting with one or more representatives from each party, including the Libertarian Party of New Mexico that earned major party status with a strong showing in the 2016 presidential election. Lars Mapstead was presented as the sole contender for the Libertarian presidential nomination.
Party-certified presidential candidates will be vetted in February by the New Mexico secretary of state鈥檚 office to ensure they meet administrative requirements to run for the office. New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, a Democrat, said she won鈥檛 exclude candidates that meet administrative requirements 鈥 unless a court with jurisdiction intervenes.
The Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which prohibits anyone from holding office who swore an oath to support the Constitution and then 鈥渆ngaged in insurrection鈥 against it. It鈥檚 the first time in history the provision has been used to prohibit someone from running for the presidency, and the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to have the final say over whether the ruling will stand.
Little-known presidential candidate John Anthony Castro has challenged Trump's eligibility to appear on the ballot in New Mexico and Arizona in federal court based on anti-insurrection provisions of the 14th Amendment. The Arizona lawsuit was dismissed earlier this month and a ruling is pending in New Mexico. Trump lost the New Mexico vote in 2016 and again in 2020 by a wider margin.
Pearce, the GOP chairman, said Trump should be allowed to compete for the nomination in New Mexico regardless of litigation, arguing that the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol was not an insurrection.
鈥淓ven if (Trump) gets convicted of something in all of these cases, that doesn鈥檛 prohibit him from running and serving,鈥 Pearce said after Friday's meeting. 鈥淓verybody should be treated fairly under the law, and I don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 occurring.鈥
A county commissioner in southern New Mexico last year was by a state district court judge for engaging in insurrection at the Jan. 6, 2021, riots that disrupted Congress from certifying Joe Biden's presidential victory.
Former Otero County commissioner Couy Griffin has appealed that ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court after the New Mexico Supreme Court declined to hear the case based on missed filing deadlines. It's unclear whether the U.S. Supreme Court will take up Griffin's case once it's fully briefed next year.
The constitutional provision used to bar Griffin 鈥 and now Trump in Colorado 鈥 has only been used a handful of times. It originally was created to prevent former Confederates from returning to government positions.
鈥淭hese are constitutional issues and it is not the secretary of state鈥檚 role to make this kind of a legal finding in New Mexico,鈥 said Alex Curtas, a spokesperson to Secretary of State Toulouse Oliver. 鈥淎s long as a candidate meets all the administrative requirements to be placed on the ballot in 2024, they would not be excluded from the ballot unless a court with jurisdiction made a legal finding and ordered that person to be excluded.鈥
Democratic Party-certified candidates in New Mexico include not only President Joe Biden but also Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips and self-help author Marianne Williamson.
Morgan Lee, The Associated Press