Who is Norma Anderson? The Colorado Republican leading the 14th Amendment challenge against Trump

CNN —

Norma Anderson had already earned her spot in the Colorado history books before becoming the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit seeking to disqualify Donald Trump from office.

The standoff against Trump is one final chapter in the 91-year-old’s storied political career, which includes stints as the first-ever woman majority leader in both chambers of the Colorado legislature.

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“I didn’t realize I would go down in history as Anderson versus Trump,” she told CNN in an interview.

The case she’s referring to – now Trump v. Anderson – revolves around Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bans insurrectionists from holding public office. The Colorado Supreme Court ruled in December that the ban applies to Trump because of the January 6, 2021, insurrection, and the former president is now asking the US Supreme Court to overturn that decision.

Anderson first got involved when Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, recruited her to join their Denver-based lawsuit, which began as a case against Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, who controls ballot access in the state. (At that stage, the case was known as Anderson v. Griswold.)

“They came to me and asked if I would be interested,” Anderson said. “And I said absolutely.”

But before embarking on the unprecedented case against Trump, Anderson made plenty of history of her own.

She spent 12 years in the statehouse, before having to leave due to term limits. While there, from 1997 to 1998, she was the majority leader of the lower chamber. After that, she won a seat in the state Senate, and spent seven years there.