Maine secretary of state who tried to keep Trump off the ballot running for governor

A politician who attempted to remove President Donald Trump from the Maine 2024 Republican primary ballot wants to be governor of the blue state.

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows last week announced a run for governor ahead of the 2026 election.

The Democrat is running to replace fellow liberal and incumbent Gov. Janet Mills, who is term-limited. Maine law prevents governors from serving three consecutive terms.

“I believe now more than ever, we need a new day in America. That begins with new leadership,” Bellows said in her announcement last week.

The announcement drew pushback from conservatives, still angry over her efforts to remove Trump from the ballot. 

“The lady who tried to rig Maine’s election by illegally kicking Trump off the ballot now wants to be governor of Maine,” Maine Wire editor-in-chief Steve Robinson said on X. “When does Shenna Bellows resign? She can’t be allowed to oversee the voter ID referendum in Nov and her own election in (2026).” 

Former state representative candidate Chuck Ellis of Westbrook also criticized the announcement, calling it “dystopian.” 

“Are we in an episode of the Twilight Zone or are we living out a dystopian novel?” he posted on X. “Either way it’s crazy but I think Shenna has the best shot to win the Democratic nomination.” 

Bellows received national attention in December 2023 when she announced her decision not to put Trump on the state’s 2024 Republican primary ballot. It came after some Maine residents challenged his eligibility over allegations Trump incited rioters on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2021. Opponents cited Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which prevents insurrectionists from seeking office; the provision was meant to bar Confederates from seeking federal office after the Civil War.  

“My obligation under Maine State law was to issue a decision very quickly, not permitted under Maine law to wait for the United States Supreme Court to intervene in this particular proceeding,” Bellows told CBS News. “I was required to issue that decision. And I could only look at the hearing, evidence, and facts that were presented during that hearing.” 

Yet, her decision did not stand. 

Colorado tried the same thing, so Trump took legal action. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in March 2024 that states could not determine eligibility for federal office, forcing Maine and Colorado to put Trump on the ballot.  

Bellows reversed her decision after the ruling. 

“I have reviewed the Anderson decision carefully. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that individual states lack authority to enforce Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment with respect to federal offices,” she wrote at the time. “Consistent with my oath and obligation to follow the law and the Constitution, and pursuant to the Anderson decision, I hereby withdraw my determination that Mr. Trump’s primary petition is invalid.”