(Tribune News Service) — A Maine judge ruled that the state won’t be able to move forward with removing former President Donald Trump’s name from the presidential primary ballot until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on a similar case from Colorado.

Maine Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy on Wednesday denied Trump’s request for a stay in the proceedings and instead sent the case back to the secretary of state to wait for the Supreme Court to rule in a case that may prove pivotal in the 2024 presidential race.

“The court believes it is essential to factor in the risk of voter confusion should multiple administrative or judicial decisions addressing President Trump’s eligibility to appear on the primary ballot issue before the Supreme Court rules“ in the Colorado case, the judge wrote.

The ruling is intended to minimize “any potentially destabilizing effect of inconsistent decisions and will promote greater predictability in the weeks ahead of the primary election,” according to the opinion.

The order directs Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows to issue a new decision within 30 days after the Supreme Court ruling that modifies, withdraws or confirms her finding last month to remove Trump from the ballot.

Insurrection clause

Trump challenged the decision made by Bellows, who held that the former president is ineligible for another term because of a section of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment. The provision bars from federal office those who have sworn an oath to support the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection” against the U.S.

Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said the Maine ruling was “a correct action” and the former president expects to prevail at the Supreme Court.

“We will not stop fighting the remaining bogus, bad-faith 14th Amendment ballot challenges and President Trump looks forward to winning the state of Maine later this year,” Cheung said in a statement.

Colorado and Maine are so far the only two states that have made a determination that Trump is disqualified from appearing on the ballot under the insurrection clause. Other states, such as Oregon, are waiting for the justices to rule in the Colorado case. Still others have denied efforts to remove Trump from the ballot.

The Supreme Court agreed earlier this month to consider a Colorado court ruling barring Trump from the presidential primary ballot based on a finding that he engaged in insurrection in trying to overturn the 2020 election.

The justices are considering the case on an expedited basis, with arguments set for Feb. 8.

A broad Supreme Court decision in the ex-president’s favor would end efforts around the country to remove him from the ballot. A ruling against Trump would fuel that drive and raise new questions about the viability of his candidacy.

Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in the 2024 race, has faced dozens of lawsuits across the country claiming he is ineligible for another term because of his effort to stay in the White House, which triggered the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

His conduct, including spreading false claims of voter fraud and enlisting bogus presidential electors in swing states he lost to Biden, has already led to separate federal and state criminal charges.

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