Nevada judge dismisses case seeking to bar Trump from ballot

A federal judge on Monday dismissed the case seeking to bar former President Donald Trump from Nevada’s ballot.

John Castro, a long-shot presidential candidate from Texas, argued that Trump cannot participate in an election because of his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, citing the Insurrectionist Disqualification Clause in the 14th Amendment.

Similar lawsuits were filed in states across the country, with Colorado and Maine deciding to bar him from the primary ballot under those grounds. The matter is now before the U.S. Supreme Court.

U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro found that Castro lacked standing and that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case.

Castro had argued that Trump’s participation in the primary would cause Castro harm, as Trump would siphon away votes and fundraising from him. Trump, however, is not participating in the Feb. 6 primary. Rather, he is joining the Nevada Republican Party’s caucus scheduled for Feb. 8. At least five federal courts have rejected that argument, Navarro wrote in her order.

Article III of the Constitution limits federal court jurisdiction, according to the Nevada judge. To have standing to sue in federal court, a plaintiff must have suffered a concrete or actual injury, she wrote.

“Castro’s lack of Article III standing is even more apparent in this case because Trump and Castro are not even competing on the same ballot in Nevada,” Navarro further wrote.

In a Tuesday statement, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung called the case a “bogus, bad-faith” attempt to deprive Americans and Nevadans of their right to vote for the candidate of their choice.

“President Trump is the leading candidate for not only the Republican primary, but the general election and his opponents are desperate,” Cheung said in the statement. “Rest assured that he will fight each and every one of these disgraceful attacks on American democracy, he will win, and we will all Make America Great Again.”

Interested parties had joined the conversation last month, filing a motion for leave to provide their own arguments.

Former longtime Democratic legislator Chris Giunchigliani and two Republicans in Nye County urged the court to dismiss the complaint for lack of standing and for insufficient service of process. They want the question of Trump’s eligibility to be answered under the Constitution, but they believe Castro’s route is not the way to get those answers.

Michael McDonald, chairman of the Nevada Republican Party and one of Nevada’s six Republican electors who submitted false electoral certificates for Trump in 2020, called the case dismissal a win for all Nevadans. He said Castro was trying to attack the former president, but his argument could be used against others in the future.

“We have to keep fighting it,” he said. “This could set a precedent that could affect everyone.”

Castro said he was getting ready to dismiss the Nevada case, as it is different from his lawsuits in other states in that he will not be competing with Trump in the Nevada primary. He was happy to see other 14th Amendment cases have success, and he thinks the Supreme Court could rule against Trump.

“If they get to the merits (of the arguments), he’s definitely off the ballot,” Castro said.

John Castro Order by Jessica Hill on Scribd

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.