Kitsap judge declines hearing challenging Trump’s eligibility for Washington ballot

KITSAP COUNTY, Wash. — A Kitsap County judge opted not to hear a challenge to Donald Trump’s eligibility for the Washington state presidential primary ballot on Tuesday.

The judge intimated that he didn’t believe his courtroom was the correct venue to tackle the issue.

Petitioners will instead take their case to Thurston County court on Thursday to try again.

The challenge was first filed in Kitsap County last week, contesting Trump’s eligibility for the ballot based on the insurrection clause in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That clause bans any person who has “engaged in insurrection” from holding any elected office without two-thirds approval from the U.S. House and Senate.

Trump’s eligibility has been challenged in multiple states over his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack at the U.S. Capitol. That includes Colorado, where the state’s Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that he was ineligible.

Since then, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to that ruling, with oral arguments set for Thursday, Feb. 8.

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