{{short description|American politician}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}} {{Infobox officeholder |name = Norma Anderson |office = Minority Leader of the Colorado Senate |status = Acting |term_start = June 22, 2005 |term_end = August 22, 2005 |predecessor = Mark Hillman |successor = Andy McElhany |office1 = Majority Leader of the Colorado Senate |term_start1 = January 8, 2003 |term_end1 = January 7, 2004 |predecessor1 = Bill Thiebaut |successor1 = Mark Hillman |office2 = Member of the Colorado Senate |term_start2 = January 13, 1999 |term_end2 = January 3, 2006 |predecessor2 = Bill Schroeder |successor2 = Kiki Traylor |constituency2 = 22nd |office3 = Majority Leader of the Colorado House of Representatives |term_start3 = January 1997 |term_end3 = January 13, 1999 |predecessor3 = Tim Foster |successor3 = Doug Dean |office4 = Member of the Colorado House of Representatives |term_start4 = January 14, 1987 |term_end4 = January 13, 1999 |predecessor4 = James Moore |successor4 = Rob Fairbank |constituency4 = 52nd (1987–1993)<br>30th (1993–1999) |birth_date = {{birth date and age|1932|7|6}} |birth_place = Elyria, Ohio, U.S. |death_date = |death_place = |party = Republican (before 2021)<br> Independent (2021–present) |education = University of Denver }} '''Norma Anderson''' is an American former state legislator from Colorado.<ref>https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=6942</ref> She previously represented Jefferson County in the Colorado House of Representatives from 1987 to 1998, and was a member of the Colorado Senate from 1999 until her resignation in 2006 to spend more time with her family.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vote Smart &#124; Facts For All |url=http://votesmart.org/ |website=Vote Smart}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=January 3, 2006 |title=After 19 years, Sen. Anderson retires from "the game" |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2006/01/03/after-19-years-sen-anderson-retires-from-the-game/}}</ref> A former Republican, she left the party in 2021 over its support for Donald Trump.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Women who served in the Colorado House of Representatives &#124; |url=http://www.strongsisters.org/women-who-served-in-the-colorado-house-of-representatives/}}</ref>

Anderson was the first woman to serve as majority leader in the Colorado House and Colorado Senate.<ref name="CO Leg Past Present">{{cite web |title=Norma Anderson |url=https://www.leg.state.co.us/lcs/leghist.nsf/DocView.xsp?documentId=93F857C44781F1D5872578E2005D1379&action=openDocument |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240205172617/https://www.leg.state.co.us/lcs/leghist.nsf/DocView.xsp?documentId=93F857C44781F1D5872578E2005D1379&action=openDocument |archive-date=February 5, 2024 |access-date=February 5, 2024 |work=Colorado Legislators Past and Present |publisher=Colorado General Assembly Legislative Council Staff}}</ref> A pre-school was named for her and she is a member of the Jefferson County Historical Commission Hall of Fame.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NORMA ANDERSON |url=https://historicjeffco.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/hof-norma-anderson.pdf |access-date=30 December 2025 |website=www.historicjeffco.wordpress.com}}</ref> She has lived in Lakewood, Colorado, and has three children.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jeffcostories.omeka.net/items/show/73|title=Interview with Norma Anderson, September 28, 2011 · Jeffco Stories|website=jeffcostories.omeka.net}}</ref>

==Opposition to Trump== In 2021, Anderson left the Republican Party over its support for Donald Trump.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Friednash |first1=Doug |title=Two prominent Coloradans jump their parties’ ships. What does that say about our two-party system?|url=https://www.denverpost.com/2021/02/25/albus-brooks-norma-anderson-leave-democratic-party-republican-party/ |access-date=December 21, 2023 |work=The Denver Post |date=February 25, 2021}}</ref>

Anderson was a plaintiff in ''Trump v. Anderson'', a court case that aimed to bar former President Trump, a candidate in the 2024 presidential election, from appearing on the Colorado ballot by invoking the 14th Amendment's insurrection clause.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Young |first1=Quentin |title=Lawsuit seeks to bar Trump from presidential ballot in Colorado|url=https://coloradonewsline.com/2023/09/06/lawsuit-bar-trump-colorado/ |access-date=21 December 2023 |work=Colorado Newsline |date=6 September 2023}}</ref>

Trump was ultimately disqualified from the 2024 Colorado Republican presidential primary; marking the first time a presidential candidate had ever been barred from running because of the clause.<ref name="scotus">{{Cite news |last=Joseph |first=Cameron |date=2023-12-29 |title=Why did Maine and Colorado disqualify Trump from their ballots? |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/19/why-did-colorado-disqualify-trump-white-house-2024-election |access-date=2023-12-31 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The court stayed its ruling, pending review by the U.S. Supreme Court.<ref name="scotus" /> On March 4, 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump could not be removed from the ballot, stating that individual states cannot determine eligibility under Section 3 for federal office holders, and that such power is conferred exclusively to the federal government.

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-co-hs}} {{s-bef|before=James E. Moore}} {{s-ttl|title=Member of the Colorado House of Representatives<br>from the 52nd district|years=1987–1993}} {{s-aft|after=Bernhard E. “Bernie” Strom}} |- {{s-bef|before=Guillermo A. DeHerrera}} {{s-ttl|title=Member of the Colorado House of Representatives<br>from the 30th district|years=1993–1999}} {{s-aft|after=Rob Fairbank}} |- {{s-bef|before=Tim Foster}} {{s-ttl|title=Majority Leader of the Colorado House of Representatives|years=1997–1999}} {{s-aft|after=Doug Dean}} |- {{s-par|us-co-sen}} {{s-bef|before=William R. “Bill” Schroeder}} {{s-ttl|title=Member of the Colorado Senate<br>from the 22nd district|years=1999–2006}} {{s-aft|after=Kathleen K. "Kiki" Traylor}} |- {{s-bef|before=Bill Thiebaut}} {{s-ttl|title=Majority Leader of the Colorado Senate|years=2003–2004}} {{s-aft|after=Mark Hillman}} |- {{s-bef|before=Mark Hillman}} {{s-ttl|title=Minority Leader of the Colorado Senate<br>Acting|years=2005}} {{s-aft|after=Andy McElhany}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Norma}} Category:1932 births Category:20th-century members of the Colorado General Assembly Category:20th-century American women politicians Category:21st-century members of the Colorado General Assembly Category:21st-century American women politicians Category:Living people Category:People associated with the 2024 United States presidential election Category:People from Elyria, Ohio Category:People from Lakewood, Colorado Category:Republican Party Colorado state senators Category:Republican Party members of the Colorado House of Representatives Category:Women state legislators in Colorado