The former president has handed a ballot win as the New Hampshire primary is scheduled to start Tuesday.
A federal judge in New Hampshire ruled against an effort to block former President Donald Trump from the state’s ballots, coming just before the state holds its first Republican primary election.
The ruling, posted by Republican lawyer and former California GOP Chairwoman Harmeet Dhillon, was handed down by U.S. District Judge Samantha D. Elliott against long-shot Republican presidential candidate John Anthony Castro, a Texas resident who filed similarly rejected cases in other states.
In his petition, the judge noted that Mr. Castro brought a “nearly identical” claim in New Hampshire as his petition to the U.S. Supreme Court, alleging that the former president is ineligible from appearing on the state’s ballots because of Section 3 of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which bars candidates from running for office if they engaged in an “insurrection” or “rebellion” against the United States.
Mr. Castro alleged that because he is a presidential candidate in New Hampshire, President Trump’s inclusion on the ballot injures him in the form of a “diminution of votes and/or fundraising.”
In dismissing the case, Judge Elliott said that Mr. Castro “conceded” at an evidentiary hearing “that he would not win any delegates even if the secretary of state were prevented from counting votes in Trump’s favor” and that Mr. Castro has “not proven redressability,” a legal term that means a court will be able to make up for or correct an injury of the plaintiff.
His motion for a preliminary motion in New Hampshire was then denied by the judge and that all other pending motions in the case were rendered moot before she dismissed his case.
After the order, Ms. Dhillon hailed the judge’s decision on social media, saying that it represents a win for President Trump: “Congrats to the election litigation team yet again!”
As of Monday morning, Mr. Castro has not issued a public response to the decision. The Epoch Times has contacted Mr. Castro for comment in response to the New Hampshire judge’s decision.
