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With former President Donald Trump’s access to Illinois’ primary ballot being challenged, it’s possible his name could appear on the Republican ticket but with a condition.

Nominating petitions for presidential electors are being filed this week to the Illinois State Board of Elections. Elections board spokesman Matt Dietrich said the board can’t discuss the nature of objections.

“Because we do not release anything related to objections until they are in the hands of a hearing officer,” Dietrich told The Center Square. “That’s not going to happen until Jan. 17.”

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that objectors, using the 14th Amendment, claim that Trump is barred for encouraging protestors to storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court similar moves from Colorado and Maine.

“It’s time to put a STOP to all of these vicious attempts to REMOVE my name from the ballot,” Trump said in a fundraising email. “That’s why my attorneys have officially APPEALED to the SUPREME COURT to keep my name on the 2024 ballot once and for all.”

Dietrich said Illinois' objections will be given to a hearing officer, with a recommendation eventually to be made to the bipartisan elections board.

“So you cannot have … one party unilaterally making any decisions,” Dietrich said. “It takes at least five votes to make a board order effective.”

Dietrich said it’s likely Trump’s name will be certified for the ballot Jan. 30, but with a note that an objection is pending. Whatever the outcome of the elections board, it’s expected the case could be taken to the Illinois courts.

“And that can wind its way all the way up to the Illinois Supreme Court if necessary,” he said. “So it’s possible that’s what could happen with this case.”

The Illinois GOP said it doesn’t take sides in primaries.

“We believe the people, not activist courts, should choose who represents them in the White House,” Illinois GOP Chairman Don Tracy said in a statement to The Center Square. “This attempt to remove President Trump from the ballot without due process is an anti-democracy attempt to limit the voting rights of Illinois citizens and should be dismissed outright.”

The primary in Illinois is March 19. The General Election is Nov. 5.

Kevin Bessler contributed to this report.

(The Center Square) – It took less than 10 minutes to set Wisconsin’s presidential primary ballot.

The state’s Presidential Preference Selection Committee met in Madison on Tuesday to select the candidates who may appear on the April 2 ballot.

Republicans nominated former President Donald Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, current Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Vivek Ramaswammy.

Democrats nominated only President Biden.

Wisconsin’s law allows the Selection Committee to recognize “the names of all candidates whose candidacy is generally advocated or recognized in the national news media throughout the United States on the ballot, and may, in addition, place the names of other candidates on the ballot."

The hearing was largely perfunctory, with committee members answering the roll and making formal motions for most of the seven minutes they met.

None of the Democrats at Tuesday’s meeting objected to former President Trump’s name being placed on the ballot.

The Selection Committee’s meeting came just a few days after the Wisconsin Elections Commission dismissed a 14th Amendment challenge to the former president.

The Elections Commission said that challenge was improperly filed, commissioners did not weigh-in on the merits of the case.

The man who filed that challenge, Minocqua Brewing Co. owner and progressive political activist Kirk Bangstad, has promised to take his case to the courts.

Bangstad last week said he intends to appeal the Elections Commission’s decision in Madison, “where there are very smart judges," he said.

The Colorado Supreme Court ruling Tuesday that former President Donald Trump could not appear on the 2024 presidential ballot has launched a wave of backlash with many saying it will help Trump electorally.

“Unprecedented, unAmerican, and illegal election interference,” Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

A key line of attack on the decision is that it does what Trump’s opponents have always accused him of: Undermines Democracy.

“The Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to disqualify President Trump from the 2024 ballot is an abuse of power and an attempt to silence the voice of millions of voters,” Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Tenn., wrote on X.

The Colorado majority opinion admitted that the U.S. Supreme Court could intervene, and as a result postponed the effect of its ruling until Jan. 4, giving the higher court about two weeks. The Colorado secretary of state is require to certify the ballot by Jan. 5.

"We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us,” the court wrote in its majority, adding that the justices are “likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.

The idea is spreading, with California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis calling on state secretary Shirley Weber to “explore every legal option” to oust Trump from the 2024 primary ballot.

“The Colorado courts weaponizing the law against Donald Trump should alarm everyone,” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., wrote on X. “Trump haters are abusing the Constitution and the rule of law to attempt to keep him out of office (again).”

Other critics argued that the effort in Colorado, a state Trump has never won in a general election, will actually boost Trump’s electoral chances.

“One thing is clear: this will help Donald Trump,” said Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. “Do these Colorado clowns in black robes not realize that?”

The best evidence for that claim is how Trump’s poll numbers soared after the FBI raided his Mar-a-Lago home in the classified documents indictment. Former Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis seemed to have a real chance of challenging Trump, based on polls at the time, but since the FBI raid Trump’s numbers have soared, leaving his primary challengers with little hope of catching him.

Even some of Trump’s Republican primary competitors came to his defense, including DeSantis and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, who has said he will withdraw from Colorado and California’s ballot in protest.

Trump himself reacted Tuesday.

“Joe Biden is a threat to Democracy,” Trump said during remarks in Iowa responding to the news. “They are weaponizing law enforcement for high-level election interference because we are beating them so badly in the polls.”

Republican 2024 presidential candidates will gather Wednesday night in Miami to duke it out as the primary season continues.

The Republican National Committee released a full list of candidates who meet the donor and support criteria and who are expected to debate tonight:

Former New Jersey Governor Chris ChristieFlorida Governor Ron DeSantisFormer South Carolina Governor and Ambassador Nikki HaleyBusinessman Vivek RamaswamySenator Tim Scott, R-S.C.

The list of candidates has narrowed in recent weeks as candidates dropped out after failing to gain momentum. The biggest dropout among them was Vice President Mike Pence, who stepped out of the race at the end of October saying “it is not my time.”

Notably, former President Donald Trump will skip the debate and hold a rally in Hialeah, a Florida city adjacent to Miami and just minutes from the GOP debate.

Trump has said the voters know who he is and that he should not have to debate opponents so far behind him in the polls.

The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll, conducted in conjunction with Noble Predictive Insights, shows Trump is right about his support. Even with nearly 100 criminal indictments and skipping the debates, Trump has more support than all his challengers combined.

The survey of 2,605 voters includes 1,035 Republicans, 1,074 Democrats, and 496 true Independents, and is among the most comprehensive surveys in the nation.

That poll surveyed likely Republican voters about their pick for president and found that Trump has 59% support.

DeSantis is in second place with 13% support and Haley, a former ambassador and governor, comes in third with 9% support.

Ramaswamy, who has made headlines at the previous debates, came in fourth with 7% support.

Scott, R-S.C., and Christie are tied at 2% support. Those candidates will likely be looking to land big shots to save their campaigns, though political analysts speculate that some candidates like Scott could be angling for a vice president selection.

Key issues expected to come up at the debate are the economy and the respective wars between Ukraine and Russia as well as Israel and the terrorist group Hamas.

The debate will be hosted by NBC News partnered with Salem Radio Network, the Republican Jewish Coalition, and Rumble, according to the RNC.

The GOP debate will air at 8 p.m. Wednesday.

“We are looking forward to our third debate in Miami, a welcome opportunity for our candidates to showcase our winning conservative agenda to the American people,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement. “We are especially honored to be the first political party to partner with a Jewish organization for a debate in our partnership with the Republican Jewish Coalition, and our candidates will reaffirm the Republican Party’s unwavering support of Israel and the Jewish community on the stage Wednesday night.”

Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron Desantis are virtually tied with President Joe Biden in theoretical head-to-head matchups heading into the 2024 presidential campaign, according to new polling data.

The Center Square Voters’ Voices Poll, conducted in conjunction with Noble Predictive Insights, found that in a faceoff, Trump has 41% support compared to Biden’s 44% support, while 15% remain unsure.

DeSantis does slightly better, with 41% support to Biden’s 43% and 16% unsure.

The poll’s margin of error is 2.4%, making either matchup a relative toss-up 15 months out from the general election.

“What’s interesting about the hypothetical matchups between Trump and Biden or Biden versus DeSantis is that there is actually no real meaningful demographic or psychographic difference between the two Republicans,” Mike Noble, founder of Noble Predictive Insights, the group that conducted the poll, told The Center Square.

“The takeaway really is that [general election] voters see Trump and DeSantis interchangeably, and I don’t think that was really the case six months ago,” he added. “Voters are less seeing a difference between Trump and DeSantis.”

Noble said Desantis lost a “slight edge” of a 2 to 4 percentage-point lead over Biden in the past six months as Trump’s attacks on the Florida governor took effect. At the same time, the several recent indictments against Trump actually helped propel him with Republican voters.

This poll comes the same week that a Georgia grand jury indicted Trump for his alleged role in trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election. That indictment, Trump’s fourth, is the latest in a string of legal challenges that could weaken his support, turn his campaign season into a string of court dates, and possibly even put him in prison before the 2024 election.

“In the primary, shockingly enough, [the indictments] have caused a rally around the flag for Trump in the GOP because, with this many folks in the race, it is so hard to get traction,” Noble said. “Nikki Haley has been at 4% since she announced four months ago, and she is typically considered a credible candidate.”

Noble said the indictments have benefited Trump early in the primary campaign but are “likely to be a liability” in the general.

If Trump’s legal woes somehow end up sinking his chances, the polling shows DeSantis could perform just as well – or potentially better – against Biden.

As of now, according to the poll, Trump is dominating the Republican field with less than a week before the first GOP presidential primary debate, scheduled for Wednesday in Milwaukee.

The survey found that 53% of surveyed Republicans picked Trump, followed by 18% naming DeSantis. Former Vice President Mike Pence and entrepreneur and author Vivek Ramaswamy came in at third and fourth place with 7% and 6% support, respectively.

U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley tied for fifth place at 4% support each.

In a theoretical Republican primary head-to-head matchup where respondents are forced to pick between either Trump or DeSantis, 63% chose Trump and 37% chose DeSantis.

Male and female support for the respective Republican primary candidates largely follows the general population’s overall support. Trump has 53% support among men and women, and DeSantis has 18% support among each group as well.

Scott does better with men than women, earning 6% and 3% support, respectively. Haley does better with women than men, with 5% and 4% support in each category.

Pence does better with women as well, with 8% support compared to 5% support from men.

Ramaswamy performs better with men, earning 7% support compared to 4% support from women.

Trump’s support among Hispanic Republicans outpaces his support overall in the field of GOP primary candidates. The survey found that Trump has 62% support among Hispanics. DeSantis has 17% support among the same group.

Trump’s legal troubles have not hurt him as much as some may expect. Noble said that is likely because Biden’s own legal troubles have “muddied the waters.” An ongoing investigation into Biden and his son Hunter Biden has turned up more evidence to back up allegations that the Biden family and associates took about $20 million from overseas entities, even in adversarial countries like Russia and China.

“Trump’s number just hasn’t really moved very much in the general election because he is just so incredibly defined, and most folks have made up their opinion on him,” Noble said. “But what is interesting is that with the head-to-head matchup, why you are not seeing as much movement [is] because … Biden himself is running into some legal issues as well, and I think that’s muddying the waters in a general election matchup.”

The poll was conducted by Noble Predictive Insights from July 31 to Aug. 3. Unlike traditional national polls, with their limited respondent count of about 1,000, Noble Predictive surveyed 1,000 Republican registered voters, 1,000 Democratic voters, and 500 Independents, culminating in a comprehensive sample size of 2,500. The margin of error for the aggregate sample was ±2.4%, with each political group independently weighted. For more detailed insights and information about the methodology, please visit www.noblepredictiveinsights.com.