Secretary of State Shenna Bellows on Thursday disqualified Donald Trump from the state’s primary in a closely watched decision that makes Maine the second state where the former president has been kicked off the ballot.
Bellows’ decision comes after Trump lawyers on Wednesday argued that the secretary of state should recuse herself from the matter because of several tweets she posted about Jan. 6, including one in which she called the day’s events a violent insurrection. Bellows in her ruling dismissed that argument as “untimely” — as the motion was filed 16 days after Trump attorneys knew she would be deciding the case — but said even if it had been timely, she would have found that she could “preside over this matter impartially and without bias.”
Bellows found Trump ineligible under the 14th Amendment, which prohibits anyone who took an oath to uphold the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from holding office. Trump engaged in insurrection when he incited people to attack the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, plaintiffs in the cases argued.
Bellows agreed in her decision.
“I conclude… that the record establishes that Mr. Trump, over the course of several months and culminating on January 6, 2021, used a false narrative of election fraud to inflame his supporters and direct them to the Capitol to prevent certification of the 2020 election and the peaceful transfer of power,” she wrote. “I likewise conclude that Mr. Trump was aware of the likelihood for violence and at least initially supported its use given he both encouraged it with incendiary rhetoric and took no timely action to stop it.”
“I do not reach this conclusion lightly. Democracy is sacred… I am mindful that no Secretary of State has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment,” Bellows added. “I am also mindful, however, that no presidential candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection. The oath I swore to uphold the Constitution comes first above all, and my duty under Maine’s election laws, when presented with a Section 336 challenge, is to ensure that candidates who appear on the primary ballot are qualified for the office they seek.”
Trump’s campaign has five days to appeal the ruling to the state Superior Court, with the campaign saying it would do so in a statement Thursday. Bellows said she would suspend the effect of her decision until the Superior Court can weigh in or until the time to appeal expires.
The secretary of state’s decision comes as Trump’s eligibility to appear on the 2024 Republican presidential primary ballot is currently being challenged in more than a dozen states.
Such challenges have been dismissed in some states. However, last week, the Colorado Supreme Court said the former president was ineligible to appear on that state’s primary ballot in a landmark ruling that delayed Bellows’ decision on the matter in Maine. The Colorado Republican Party has appealed the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In Maine, former Portland Mayor Ethan Strimling, a Democrat, and former Republican state Sens. Kimberley Rosen and Thomas Saviello challenged Trump’s election eligibility under the stipulations of the 14th Amendment. Mary Ann Royal of Winterport also contested Trump’s ballot eligibility on those grounds.
In a separate filing, Portland resident and lawyer Paul Gordon argued Trump could not seek the presidency under the term limits imposed by the 22nd Amendment because the former president has maintained that he won the 2020 election. Bellows rejected the challenge under the 22nd Amendment, writing: “There appears to be no dispute between any of the parties that President Biden prevailed over Mr. Trump. Therefore, given Mr. Trump has only won a single election for President, he is not barred from being elected to the same office again under the Twenty-Second Amendment.”
The case in Maine and the challenges across the country come as the Republican presidential primary is set to get underway next month, with the Iowa caucus kicking things off on Jan. 15. Maine’s presidential primary will be held March 5, when a total of 16 states will vote.
Despite facing a plethora of legal challengesTrump remains the heavy favorite to once again emerge as the Republican Party’s presidential nominee.
This report was first published by the Maine Morning Star.
