DENVER – Two courts rejected appeals Wednesday from a group aiming to boot Rep. Doug Lamborn from the Republican primary ballot in his district in what may have been the final attempt to have the six-term congressman removed.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver and Colorado Supreme Court dismissed the appeals from the group, which had initially successfully argued that Lamborn should be off the ballot because his campaign used nonresident signature gatherers on his ballot petition.
A federal judge in the U.S. District Court of Colorado overturned that ruling, saying that Secretary of State Wayne Williams should certify Lamborn’s petitions and put him on the ballot “unless, for reasons other than the residency requirement discussed in this order, he does not qualify.”
A group of supporters of state Sen. Owen Hill appealed that decision, but the 10th Circuit panel and the state Supreme Court denied those appeals Wednesday.
Kyle Fisk, a spokesperson for that group, said they were “extremely disappointed” by the decisions in a statement Wednesday.
Dan Bayens, a spokesperson for Lamborn’s campaign, told Denver7 Tuesday that it was “time to move on.”
“As we have said all along, we believe voters – not lawyers and judges – should decide the outcome of elections,” he said.
Deputy Secretary of State Suzanne Staiert said Tuesday her office was focused on the election and getting ballot printed and sent out to military and overseas voters in coming days.
In addition to Hill, Lamborn also faces several other Republicans in the district primary, including commissioner Darryl Glenn, who ran against Sen. Michael Bennet and lost in 2016. Other challengers include Bill Rhea and Tyler Stevens.
The Lamborn lawsuits and others involving other candidates had delayed the certification of the primary ballots in Colorado.
