Trump can't seem to stop a lawsuit that could kick his candidacy to the curb in Colorado

• A citizen watchdog group filed a lawsuit to disqualify Donald Trump from running in Colorado.
• The suit has yet to be dismissed, despite Trump's legal challenges.

A lawsuit to prevent Donald Trump from appearing on the 2024 presidential ballot in Colorado could go to trial at the end of October after a judge rejected three legal challenges from the GOP candidate.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, a nonpartisan ethics watchdog organization, filed the petition in early September, arguing that the 14th Amendment would bar Trump from running for president due to his role in the January 6 insurrection.

The 14th Amendment has a section specifying that anyone who has "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" or has "given aid or comfort" to those carrying out an insurrection cannot run for office.

CNN reported that Colorado 2nd Judicial District Judge Sarah Wallace wrote in a late Friday ruling that the legal questions in this suit would be "best reserved for trial," responding to Trump's lawyers' arguments that the legal petition erred in its procedures.

Trump previously tried to get the lawsuit dismissed on the grounds that the case violated free-speech laws, CNN reported.

A Trump spokesperson told Insider that the ruling was "un-American" and that the "decision will be reversed."

"This Denver judge got it wrong. She is the only judge in the country who has allowed these baseless claims to go forward past the motion-to-dismiss stage. She is going against the clear weight of legal authority," the Trump spokesperson said.

The idea of using the 14th Amendment to disqualify Trump through lawsuits cropped up late last year when the former president announced that he would attempt a third run for office.

Section 3 of the amendment, which litigants hope to use to stop Trump from appearing on the ballot in Colorado, was adopted following the Civil War and mainly used to disqualify officials tied to the Confederacy from holding elected office.

But while the amendment specifically names congressional candidates and electors, it does not name presidential candidates as one of the groups that could be barred from serving if they participated in an insurrection, Insider previously reported.

This has not stopped CREW and other groups from filing lawsuits to test the limits of the amendment. In Minnesota, another group — Free Speech For People, or FSFP — filed a similar suit, and Trump's lawyers have asked to dismiss it, MinnPost reported. In Michigan, two cases, including one FSFP filed, are in their early stages, with the presiding judge hoping to expedite them, Michigan Live reported.

Wallace has yet to respond to one more motion to dismiss the suit, CNN reported, but if she rejects it, the case will go to trial on October 30.

Representatives for CREW did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider sent outside regular business hours.

Correction: October 22, 2023 — An earlier version of this story described Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington as a liberal ethics watchdog organization. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington is a nonpartisan ethics watchdog organization.