Lamborn: Awaiting federal judge’s ruling Tuesday

We’re waiting on a ruling expected Tuesday afternoon from a Denver federal judge on whether Colorado U.S. Rep Doug Lamborn will be on the ballot for the June primary election.

Lamborn’s political career is at a crossroads: The federal judge’s ruling could put him on the ballot, or he will face an uphill battle as a write-in candidate.

After a three-hour hearing in a Denver federal courtroom Monday, Judge Philip Brimmer took Lamborn’s case under advisement and promised to release a written opinion by Tuesday evening.

If Brimmer decides in Lamborn’s favor, Lamborn’s name will return to the ballot and he’ll be eligible to seek a seventh term.

Lamborn’s name was removed from the ballot by Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams because of a controversy involving petition signatures that were collected by workers who were not state residents, as required by law.

According to court testimony from a member of Williams’ staff, at least 259 signatures collected by the workers were declared invalid because signatures and addresses couldn’t be verified.

Lamborn blamed a recent ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court that changed how officials interpret the residency requirement.

“That interpretation didn’t exist previously and it blindsided everybody,” he said. “The workers who are accused of not being state residents and collecting invalid signatures are the same who earlier had everything certified by the state. We did our due diligence.”

But Kyle Fisk, a member of the Intervenors — Lamborn opponents, including fellow Republicans — disagrees.

“This law has been on the books for 40 years,” he said. “Lamborn bypassed the grass-roots process, broke the law and committed petition fraud. He’s only doing this in a desperate attempt to retain his seat in Congress.

Lamborn’s attorneys said if Brimmer rules against them, Lamborn will likely bow out of the congressional race to give another candidate time to campaign. Five Republicans and four Democrats are candidates for the Fifth Congressional District seat.

Lamborn’s remaining option would be to get on the ballot as a write-in candidate, but no Colorado congressional candidate has ever won under that status.

Attorneys for the state said they’ll take their case to the U.S. Court of Appeals if the ruling goes against them.

Fisk said the Intervenors have filed an emergency appeal to that higher court, asking to be part of the case.

During Monday’s hearing, Lamborn’s attorneys said keeping him off the ballot would cause him “irreparable harm,” and asked Brimmer to declare the residency rule unconstitutional and unenforceable.

Lamborn’s attorneys also said they represented people who signed and circulated the petitions, as well as Lamborn’s campaign committee.

“It’s each individual signature that really matters, whether that’s a proper and lawful signature,” Lamborn said. “That should be a lot more important than who’s holding the clipboard.”

Brimmer asked several questions of Lamborn’s attorneys: If Lamborn was concerned about the residency rule, why didn’t he express that concern sooner? Shouldn’t he have been well aware of the requirement and how it works?

If attorneys for the state said if Brimmer puts Lamborn’s name back on the ballot, it would set a dangerous precedent because it would apply different standards to different candidates and could affect how similar cases are decided.

“Don’t change the rules before an election,” said one of the state attorneys. “There’s no evidence that the (Lamborn) campaign was adversely affected by the residency requirement.”

KRDO NewsChannel 13 will report the judge’s ruling as soon as it is released.