John,

Just days after we filed our lawsuit in Colorado, we had our first victory in the case, with Donald Trump’s lawyers conceding defeat after they attempted to move the case to federal court.

To quickly recap, we sued last Wednesday seeking to bar Donald Trump from the 2023 presidential ballot. Our lawsuit lays out in great detail how Trump disqualified himself under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

We sued under Colorado state law, which requires the secretary of state to exclude constitutionally ineligible candidates from the ballot and the law allows eligible voters to challenge ineligible presidential candidates in court.

This law makes clear that the six courageous plaintiffs we’re working with in Colorado have standing to sue—which is an important legal hurdle to overcome.

Trump’s lawyers tried to remove CREW’s lawsuit to federal court, where they thought Trump might receive more favorable treatment. CREW then responded that their attempt to move the case was invalid because we are suing under a state law and had already served the Colorado secretary of state, Jena Griswold, who had not agreed to the move to federal court.

Yesterday, Trump’s lawyers conceded our point and the federal judge sent the case back to state court.

That’s important because it means the first phase of this lawsuit will happen in Colorado state court, and it means the six Republican and unaffiliated voters we’re working with can still defend their right to only have valid candidates on the ballot.