A Colorado judge has confirmed the decision of Secretary of the State Jena Griswold to deny Rep. Dave Williams from using “Let’s Go Brandon” on the ballot. Griswold says that the court’s decision “confirms that the content of the ballot is not a place for political gamesmanship.”
The slogan “Let’s Go Brandon” has become a not-so-subtle dig at the US president, Joe Biden.
Williams is one of three candidates looking to unseat Rep. Doug Lamborn in the GOP primary this June. Williams says he will appeal the decision to the Colorado Supreme Court and is calling for extraordinary consequences if they refuse to hear it.
Williams claims that for him, the phrase is not just a slogan but a nickname he has been using since December. “It’s clear that a Democrat-appointed judge put his thumb on the scale for a corrupt Democrat secretary of state,” Williams told local news outlet KUSA “If the Colorado Supreme Court doesn’t hear this appeal, then they are derelict in their duty and lawmakers should remove their salaries or move to term them out of office without delay.”
Colorado does allow candidates to use nicknames if they use the name regularly and do not include a political party. Griswold had determined that Williams could not use the phrase because it is a slogan and not a nickname.
The case is worthy of a look from the Colorado Supreme Court because, Williams says, it will determine the “scope of the secretary of state’s authority to disallow nicknames on the ballot.”
The primary is largely expected to determine who will represent Colorado’s 5th district. The heavily republican district was won by Lamborn with more than 57% of the vote in 2020.
The deadline for Griswold to certify the ballot is April 29.