Lamborn’s battle.

Federal judge hears debate over U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn’s political fate

U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn goes to court to try to get back on the primary ballot.

U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn’s political fate was debated Monday in a Denver federal courtroom, where attorneys for the six-term congressman and the state argued over a law that is keeping the Colorado Springs Republican off the primary ballot — for now.

Lamborn’s legal team contends that a rule requiring Colorado’s candidate petition circulators to be state residents is unnecessary and unconstitutional, and that it puts the free-speech rights of voters at risk.

That challenge to the law comes after the Colorado Supreme Court ruled last week that Lamborn should be barred from the June primary ballot because a man who gathered dozens of signatures for a petition to land the congressman on the ballot is not a Colorado resident.

“Here’s what it boils down to: What should be important is the validity of each individual signature, not the credentials of the person holding the clipboard,” Lamborn told reporters outside a courtroom.

The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office argued that the residency requirement is an important tool for election officials and that making any change now would throw a wrench into an election cycle already facing delays because of candidates’ court challenges.

“There are real problems with changing the rules … after the game is already finished,” argued Matthew Grove, an assistant solicitor general in the Attorney General’s Office who was representing Secretary of State Wayne Williams.

U.S. District Court Judge Philip Brimmer said he would issue a written ruling in the case soon — though he did not elaborate. His decision could deal a major, if not unrecoverable, blow to Lamborn’s political future if Brimmer keeps the state’s petition-circulator residency requirement in place.

Brimmer asked questions about the impact any ruling would have on the election process and pressed Lamborn’s attorney — Ryan Call — about why the congressman hadn’t challenged the residency requirement earlier on if had concerns about it.

Call said the recent Colorado Supreme Court ruling altered a process that had not previously be a problem.

Monday’s hearing was the latest turn in a legal battle that for weeks has marked the Republican battle for Colorado’s 5th Congressional District.

It dates to earlier this month,