A federal judge has tossed a bid by a would-be Republican contender for president to keep Donald Trump off the ballot in Arizona, saying the challenger’s presidential campaign is not really serious. 

In a ruling late Dec. 5, Judge Douglas Rayes acknowledged that John Castro has in fact qualified to have his name on the ballot for the state’s March 19 presidential preference primary. But the judge said that does not give him the right to try to keep off the name of the former president. 

“It does not convince the court that Castro is genuinely competing with Trump for votes or contributions, or that he has any chance or intent to prevail in that election,” Rayes wrote in the 12-page order. 

Instead, the judge concluded that the only reason Castro is running is to give him legal standing to pursue his claims in Arizona and other states – there have been at least 27 so far, none of which Castro has won – that Trump is barred from being president based on his actions in and around the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. 

Castro contends that Trump, in his last days in office, provided “aid and comfort” to those who engaged in the insurrection by invading the U.S. Capitol. And that, Castro has argued on his own behalf – without a lawyer – disqualifies Trump from running under the 14th Amendment. 

But Rayes said all that is legally irrelevant. 

He said the U.S. Constitution says that only people entitled to sue in federal court are those who have suffered an injury that is “concrete, particularized and actual or imminent.” 

What that means, Rayes said, is there needs to be some evidence that Trump’s appearance on the ballot would harm Castro. And that, said the judge, is in short supply. 

“Castro offers no evidence that he has Arizona supporters, that he has received contributions from anywhere in the country, or that he would gain support or contributions if Trump could not appear on the ballot,” Rayes said. 

For example, the judge said, documents filed with the Federal Elections Commission between Jan.1 and Sept. 30 of this year show Castro reported only $678 in contributions, with $677 of that donated by Castro himself. 

And Rayes took a slap at Castro for trying to manufacture evidence designed to influence his decision. 

He noted that on Oct. 27 – the same day a federal judge in New Hampshire threw out Castro’s challenge there because he lacked standing to sue – Castro’s campaign purchased a digital billboard in downtown Phoenix, about three blocks from the federal courthouse here. And the message began running on Nov. 13, the day before the hearing before Rayes. 

The judge was not amused. 

“If (the Constitution’s) injury-in-fact requirement is to serve as a meaningful restraint on judicial power, it must allow federal courts to recognize such shenanigans for what they are – an attempt to manufacture a controversy in order to pursue a political agenda through litigation,” Rayes wrote. 

Castro himself has admitted he has no illusions about winning the Arizona primary, much less becoming the Republican Party nominee in 2024. 

“I know there is very little chance I could actually win now,” he told Capitol Media Services last month before the hearing. Still, he said, there is nothing wrong with building name recognition for a possible future bid. 

And in the meantime? 

“I want to be commissioner of IRS,” he said, citing his two degrees in tax law. 

Castro, in a request to have Rayes reconsider his ruling, contends the judge is off base. He said Rayes is trying to “justify the unprecedented and novel theory that the court can determine who is and is not a ‘genuine’ candidate.” 

Rayes, however, said in his ruling that’s not the case. 

“To be clear, the court’s conclusion is not based on political prognostication or a perception that Castro is unlikely to win,” the judge wrote. 

“Instead, it is based on a finding that Castro is not truly running for office,” he continued. “His campaign’s raison d’etre is to contrive standing in order to pursue litigation to keep Trump off the ballot.” 

Castro, however, said that doesn’t tell the whole story. 

In a motion to reconsider, he acknowledged that his belief Trump is constitutionally disqualified from running for president because of the 14th Amendment was the “initial motivation” for his own candidacy. 

“That motivating principle led plaintiff on this journey, and plaintiff is now doing his best, entirely on his own, to seriously pursue the presidency of the United States,” Castro wrote. 

Aside from asking Rayes to reconsider, he also has filed a notice of appeal.