Former Montana Governor Marc Racicot has joined a court filing aimed at preventing former President Donald Trump from appearing on the 2024 ballot. Racicot, alongside former governors Bill Weld of Massachusetts and Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey, submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is deliberating on whether Colorado can exclude Trump from the ballot.
Last month, the Colorado Supreme Court, citing the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ruled that Trump, based on his actions leading up to the January 6 riot, was ineligible for the ballot. The amendment prohibits individuals who have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the U.S. from holding federal office.
In their brief, Racicot and the other governors contended that both they and Trump took oaths to defend the Constitution. They argued that Trump violated his oath by prioritizing his political interests over the stability ensured by a peaceful transition of power. They warned that allowing Trump to run for the presidency again would undermine the legal force, moral authority, and power of the 14th Amendment and the oaths that public officials take.
Racicot, a two-term Republican governor from 1993 to 2001, later became a prominent corporate lobbyist in Washington, D.C., working for companies such as Enron, BNSF, and the insurance industry. In recent years, he has endorsed Democratic candidates, including President Joe Biden, Monica Tranel, and Ingrid Gustafson.
While several top Montana Republicans, including U.S. Sen. Steve Daines and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, have defended Trump’s right to be on the ballot, Racicot and his counterparts are advocating for the exclusion of Trump based on constitutional and moral grounds. Attorney General Austin Knudsen joined a brief alongside two dozen other Republican state attorneys general supporting Trump’s inclusion on the ballot.