On Thursday, a federal judge rejected the latest attempt to keep Donald Trump off the 2024 primary ballot in West Virginia.
Obama-appointed district judge Irene Berger ruled that John Anthony Castro, the little-known presidential candidate who brought the lawsuit to remove Trump, lacked standing to sue.
“The evidence establishes that [Castro] has no campaign offices, staff, or advertising in West Virginia, does not appear in polling, has little name recognition among West Virginia Republican primary voters, and has extremely minimal campaign funds, vastly insufficient to run an actual campaign,” Berger wrote. “If there were any question as to whether the allegations in the complaint are sufficient to overcome a facial challenge, the evidentiary submissions remove any doubt that Mr. Castro’s purported ‘campaign’ exists as a vehicle for pursuing litigation, not votes.”
Federal judges in Arizona and Rhode Island likewise found Castro lacked standing because he is not seriously running for office.
The decision comes days after Colorado’s Supreme Court ruled Trump was ineligible to appear on the state’s ballot under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, likely teeing up a Supreme Court battle.
“This is a big win for the integrity of our elections,” said Republican West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey in a statement, according to News and Sentinel. “This lawsuit was frivolous to begin with and without merit – it had no basis in either law or fact. Any eligible candidate has the right to be on the ballot unless legally disqualified, and we will defend the laws of West Virginia and the right of voters and candidates to the fullest.”
Bravo Victory
TRump will be our next president regardless of these senseless acts.
When I hear the term it lacks standing, does that mean there is not enough payola to the judge to keep going?