SALT LAKE CITY — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed here in Utah over Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz’s eligibility to run for president.
In a ruling issued Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Jill Parrish rejected Walter Wagner’s lawsuit that claimed Cruz is Canadian, and not eligible to run for President of the United States. She said Wagner, who filed the lawsuit on his own, lacked standing to bring a claim.
“Here, Mr. Wagner does not allege any particularized harm resulting from Senator Cruz’s campaign. Rather, Mr. Wagner only contends that he is ‘a citizen of Utah, registered to vote in Utah, and a long-time resident in Utah.’ Because he is ‘an organ of the State,’ Mr. Wagner argues ‘he has standing to insure that the Utah election process is not cluttered with defendant Cruz and his false claims.’ Yet these alleged harms are only based on Mr. Wagner’s status as a citizen. Nowhere does Mr. Wagner allege how he will be injured ‘in a personal and individual way,'” Judge Parrish wrote.
Judge Parrish said it is true that Cruz was born in Canada, but his mother is a U.S. citizen, making him an American citizen.
The lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled.
Cruz is campaigning in Utah on Saturday.
Read the judge’s order here:
