New Hampshire GOP Gov. Chris Sununu and other state GOP leaders do not think an effort to keep Donald Trump off the New Hampshire ballot will succeed this primary season, Fox News reported.
Attorney Bryant Messner, who ran unsuccessfully for the United States Senate as a Republican in 2020, is pushing to keep the former president off the ballot over Section 3 of the Constitution's 14th Amendment.
That section precludes individuals who have "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" against the country "or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof" from holding elected office again.
While a prominent critic of Trump, Sununu spokesman Ben Vihstadt informed Fox News on Wednesday that the governor was not involved in Messner's effort nor thinks it will work.
"The Governor first heard about this effort over the weekend. The Governor is not making any attempt or assisting any effort to keep anyone off the ballot. He has not spoken to and has nothing to do with Mr. Messner's actions," Vihstadt stated.
Provided that Trump "follows the same rules as all other candidates, the Governor doesn't expect ballot access will be a problem for the former president," he added.
Trump is currently facing a number of threats across the country regarding ballot access due to ongoing election cases by the Department of Justice and in Fulton County, Georgia, that have resulted in serious charges.
Messner, once propelled by Trump to victory in the state's GOP primary, told Fox that he took action after reading a University of Pennsylvania Law Review article floating the 14th Amendment proposal.
After meeting with Messner last week, Secretary of State Dave Scanlan issued a statement with Attorney General John Formella, his Republican colleague, revealing that they were "carefully reviewing" the litigation.
But state GOP head Chris Ager assured that he was in contact with Scanlan and was "confident that all the current people listed as presidential candidates, ... should they apply, would be on our ballot."
Luca Cacciatore ✉
Luca Cacciatore, a Newsmax general assignment writer, is based in Arlington, Virginia, reporting on news and politics.
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