Republican U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, with the help of a federal judge, has officially stomped on the hopes and dreams of his primary opponents. Given a second chance, his name will appear on the GOP primary ballot for the Fifth Congressional District come June.
This legal battle has been a roller coaster ride. The legitimacy of Lamborn’s petitions were challenged because one of the signature collectors was not a resident of Colorado when he collected signatures that Lamborn used to access the ballot. Colorado state law requires signature gatherers to be Colorado residents.
The Colorado Supreme Court ruling left Lamborn out in the cold, but today’s ruling by Judge Phillip Brimmer found the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling to be unconstitutional and likely a violation of free speech because those who signed the petitions were in-state residents.
As for Lamborn, his spokesman, Dan Bayens, chalked the drama up to political shenanigans telling the Denver Post:
“We believe it is time to move on from this issue, and we hope our opponents will end their legal maneuverings in an effort to disqualify Congressman Lamborn from the Republican primary.”
The same group who filed the original complaint is filing an appeal. So, it looks like the answer to Bayens plea is no.