A New Jersey judge has ruled that U.S. Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz is an American citizen and, as a result, can participate in the New Jersey primary election on June 7.
In a 26-page decision, Administrative Law Judge Jeff Masin wrote, “a child, born of a citizen-father, citizen-mother, or both, is indeed a ‘natural born’ citizen.”
A Catholic University of America law professor and a group of New Jersey residents that formed the South Jersey Concerned Citizens Committee have maintained that Cruz, who was born in Canada, was not constitutionally eligible for the presidency because he was not born within the U.S. border.
Cruz is the son of an American mother and a Cuban father.
Despite the judge’s ruling, the issue of Cruz’s eligibility in the New Jersey Republican primary is still unresolved.
The matter is now in the hands of New Jersey Secretary of State Kim Guadagno, who is also lieutenant governor. Guadagno’s ruling can be appealed in state court.
New Jersey’s Republican primary is typically not considered critical in presidential races because it occurs late in the election cycle. But it could be crucial this year as Cruz tries to block front-runner Donald Trump from winning the 1,237 delegates that are needed to clinch a first-ballot nomination.
