Biden, Trump, 8 others make initial Michigan presidential primary … – Daily O'Collegian
U.S. President Joe Biden presents Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson a Presidential Citizens Medal during a ceremony to mark the two-year anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, in the East Room of the White House, Jan. 6, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images/TNS)
U.S. President Joe Biden presents Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson a Presidential Citizens Medal during a ceremony to mark the two-year anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, in the East Room of the White House, Jan. 6, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images/TNS)
LANSING, Mich. — President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump and their challengers from both sides of the aisle are slated to make Michigan’s Feb. 27 primary ballot under candidate lists unveiled Monday by Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s office.
Under state law, Benson, a Democrat, had until 4 p.m. to release initial lists of candidates for president recognized by the national media to appear on the ballot for the primary. Benson included Trump, the front runner for the Republican nomination, amid ongoing lawsuits over his eligibility. In a statement, Benson said she was following the requirements of Michigan law.
“Barring a court order, these candidates will be included on Michigan’s presidential primary ballot in 2024 unless they withdraw their names from consideration,” the secretary of state said.
Benson’s list of Democratic candidates featured Biden, the incumbent who’s seeking a second term in the White House; U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, and author Marianne Williamson, a former Metro Detroit resident who also ran for president in 2020.
On the GOP side, Benson’s list had seven candidates: Trump, who lost to Biden in 2020; former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis; former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley; former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson; North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum; and Ohio businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.
The standard to make the secretary of state’s lists for the presidential primary ballot is simple. State law says she must include individuals “generally advocated by the national news media to be potential presidential candidates.”
The chairs of the Michigan Democratic Party and the Republican Party have the chance to add additional candidates by submitting their own lists by 4 p.m. Tuesday. Candidates can withdraw from the primary ballot until Dec. 8, and anyone else who hopes to make the primary ballot, such as someone who joins the race later, must file about 14,000 petition signatures by Dec. 8.
There are three ongoing legal battles in Michigan over whether Trump’s name should appear on the state’s ballot. The cases are pending before Judge James Robert Redford in the state Court of Claims.
Opponents of the former president have argued he should be disqualified under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The amendment, which dates back to the aftermath of the Civil War, says no one can hold office if they have previously taken an oath to support the Constitution but “engaged in insurrection or rebellion.”
Some legal experts, including retired judge J. Michael Luttig and Laurence Tribe, a constitutional law professor at Harvard University, have said the 14th Amendment should prevent Trump from running for president again after efforts to overturn his loss to Biden in 2020 included his supporters storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump’s lawyers have said Benson and the court itself lacked the authority to block Trump’s name from appearing on ballots, and the events of Jan. 6, 2021, were a riot, not an insurrection.
Benson has already said Trump will be on Michigan’s ballots next year unless a court intervenes and rules otherwise. Michigan’s Bureau of Elections previously issued a letter, determining that state election law “did not expressly authorize” Benson to make eligibility decisions regarding candidates’ qualifications and the 14th Amendment.
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