Ruling: Rep. Lamborn On GOP Primary Ballot

DENVER (CBS4)- A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that Congressman Doug Lamborn will get his name on the Republican primary ballot.

Last week, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Rep. Lamborn fell short of the required number of signatures to appear on the primary ballot.

A federal judge heard arguments in an appeal on Monday and announced the ruling Tuesday afternoon.

The six-term GOP hardliner, representing Colorado's 5th Congressional District, needed 1,000 signatures to be included in the June 26 primary.

In an effort to get Lamborn removed from the ballot, five voters sued the Secretary of State claiming that Lamborn used paid petition circulators that weren't Colorado residents.

The Congressman from Colorado Springs hired the firm Kennedy Enterprises to collect the 1,000 signatures required to put him on the ballot for the 2018 5th Congressional District primary.

Secretary of State Wayne Williams had approved Lamborn's ballot petition on March 29.

Earlier this month, a lower court ruled those signatures could stay but the plaintiffs appealed the decision and the Supreme Court ruled against Lamborn.

Lamborn says the Supreme Court ruling violates First Amendment rights because requiring signature gatherers to live in Colorado violates the U.S. Constitution.

State Sen. Owen Hill and Darryl Glenn, who challenged Democrat Michael Bennet for his U.S. Senate seat in 2016, also are in the GOP race.

Lamborn's campaign spokesman, Dan Bayens, released this statement:

"We are extremely pleased that the judge ruled in our favor and has ensured that Congressman Lamborn's name will appear on the primary ballot. Consistent with court rulings here in Colorado and around the country, the federal court agreed that the part of Colorado election law that requires petition collectors to be state residents is unconstitutional and unduly infringes on the First Amendment rights of voters and petition circulators.

We believe it is time to move on from this issue, and we hope our opponents will end their legal maneuverings in an effort to disqualify Congressman Lamborn from the Republican primary. As we have said all along, we believe voters not lawyers and judges should decide the outcome of elections.

Congressman Lamborn looks forward to continuing this spirited campaign and the opportunity to share his record of bold leadership and working with President Trump to pass his conservative agenda."