A lawsuit looking to ban Donald Trump from the West Virginia ballot has been dismissed.
U.S. District Judge Irene Berger ruled against a case arguing that Trump should not be on the state’s primary and general election ballots.
Texas Republican John Anthony Castro, who launched a presidential campaign, brought the lawsuits in 27 U.S. states, alleging that Trump is not eligible to run for president under the 14th Amendment.
Berger dismissed Castro’s case as he has no campaign staff or advertising in the state of West Virginia.
“The evidence establishes that [Castro] has no campaign offices, staff, or advertising in West Virginia, does not appear in polling, has little name recognition among West Virginia Republican primary voters, and has extremely minimal campaign funds, vastly insufficient to run an actual campaign,” Berger wrote. “If there were any question as to whether the allegations in the complaint are sufficient to overcome a facial challenge, the evidentiary submissions remove any doubt that Mr. Castro’s purported ‘campaign’ exists as a vehicle for pursuing litigation, not votes.”
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey called the decision a “big win for the integrity of our elections.”
“This lawsuit was frivolous to begin with and without merit – it had no basis in either law or fact,” he said. Any eligible candidate has the right to be on the ballot unless legally disqualified, and we will defend the laws of West Virginia and the right of voters and candidates to the fullest.”
