Former President Donald Trump will be allowed on the Minnesota ballot for the 2024 Republican primary after the state Supreme Court rejected a bid to remove him using the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause.
The decision is a victory for Trump as it allows him to compete in the GOP primary in Minnesota. However, the state Supreme Court left open the question of whether he can appear on the general election ballot, saying parties who challenged his name on the ballot can refile their complaint when the general election draws closer.
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“We conclude that petitioners have standing and that their claims are ripe as to the issue of whether former President Trump should be excluded from the 2024 Republican presidential nomination primary,” the court wrote in a three-page opinion. “We reach a different conclusion regarding petitioners’ claim that it would be error for the Secretary of State to place former President Trump’s name on the ballot for the 2024 general election ballot.”
The court concluded that because presidential primary contests only determine how many delegates candidates receive at their political party’s convention and not whether winning candidates assume office, the concerns about Trump’s constitutional ability to hold the presidency again do not apply to the primary.
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Several Minnesota voters filed the lawsuit to block Trump from appearing on the primary ballot, asking the state high court justices to enforce Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which was ratified after the Civil War and includes a clause stating those who “engaged in insurrection” can’t hold future office.
The case was one of several across the country examining whether the 14th Amendment disqualifies Trump from seeking the presidency again.
