AUGUSTA, Maine — Former President Donald Trump has been deemed "not qualified" to appear on Maine's March 5 presidential primary ballot.
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows announced her decision Thursday evening, almost two weeks after representatives met for a public hearing in Augusta. The effect of her decision will be suspended until the Superior Court rules on any appeal or the time to appeal has expired, according to a news release from her office.
Bellows received three challenges to Trump's presidential primary nomination petition from Paul Gordon, Mary Anne Royal and Benjamin Gaines on behalf of Kimberley Rosen, Thomas Saviello, and Ethan Strimling, according to her office.
Challengers argued Trump's 2024 primary nomination is invalid as the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution bars Americans who have engaged in insurrection or rebellion from office. Additionally, challengers claim "Mr. Trump, in his view, has already been elected to the office of the President twice," according to hearing documents.
In Thursday's ruling, Secretary Bellows determined Trump’s 2024 primary petition is invalid because he is "not qualified" under Section Three of the 14th Amendment. Bellows found that Trump could no longer run for his prior job because his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol violated Section 3, which bans from office those who "engaged in insurrection."
"I do not reach this conclusion lightly," Bellows wrote in her 34-page decision. "I am mindful that no Secretary of State has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. I am also mindful, however, that no presidential candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection."
A consolidated hearing was held on Dec. 15 in Augusta and can still be viewed here.
Steven Cheung, a campaign spokesperson for Donald Trump released a statement regarding Secretary Bellows' ruling, saying in-part, "We are witnessing, in real-time, the attempted theft of an election and the disenfranchisement of the American voter."
Thursday's announcement comes just one day after President Trump's legal team asked Bellows to disqualify herself from making that decision. His team claimed past social media posts from Bellows, a Democrat, pre-judged the issue raised in the case.
The Trump campaign said it would appeal Bellows' decision to Maine's state courts, and Bellows suspended her ruling until that court system rules on the case. In the end, it is likely that the nation's highest court will have the final say on whether Trump appears on the ballot in Maine and in the other states.
Regarding Secretary Bellows' decision on Thursday, Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, told NEWS CENTER Maine in a statement, "Maine voters should decide who wins the election – not a Secretary of State chosen by the Legislature. The Secretary of State’s decision would deny thousands of Mainers the opportunity to vote for the candidate of their choice, and it should be overturned."
Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said he believes the decision as to whether or not Trump should again be considered for the presidency should rest with the people as expressed in free and fair elections.
Representative Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, released the following statement following the decision:
"The text of the Fourteenth Amendment is clear. No person who engaged in an insurrection against the government can ever again serve in elected office. On January 6, 2021, Donald Trump incited a violent mob to block Congress from certifying the Electoral College and to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Our Constitution is the very bedrock of America and our laws and it appears that Trump’s actions are prohibited by the Constitution."
Maine Republican House Minority Leader Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham commented on Secretary Bellows' decision.
"This is a sham decision that mimics third world dictatorships. It will not stand legal scrutiny. People have a right to choose their leaders devoid of mindless decisions by partisan hacks," Faulkingham said in a statement.
Republican State Representative Michael Soboleski emphasized his dissatisfaction with Thursday's ruling.
"I’m extremely disappointed in the Secretary’s decision today," Soboleski said in a statement. "This is equivalent to cheating, plain and simple. To obstruct President Trump’s access to our Maine Ballot is a blatant disenfranchisement of the voters. I will keep fighting for President Trump as I always have."
He spoke with NEWS CENTER Maine and said the former president is qualified to be on the ballot and should be on the ballot and "anything other than that would be disenfranchising the voters."
Soboleski attended the public hearing in Augusta earlier this month with the goal of "representing the voice of the people." He added he wished Bellows ruled against the removal of Trump on the ballot so the former president, and other candidates, could focus on campaigning.
His primary challenger, State Representative Austin Theriault, has also come out publicly against the idea of removing Trump from the ballot.
Theriault released the following statement on Bellows' decision on Thursday:
"Donald Trump absolutely should be on the Maine ballot. This is an outrageous end run by progressive elites around the people of Maine. This political maneuvering to help prop up Joe Biden’s failed presidency has no place in Maine. If you believe in democracy, let the voters decide. Voters should choose their leaders - period."
NEWS CENTER Maine spoke with Democratic political contributor Ethan Strimling ahead of Thursday's ruling. He argued that the evidence is clear that Trump incited an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.
"The Constitution is clear, [if you incite an insurrection] against our country, you’re not allowed to run for president, and the law should be treated equally among all Americans, whether you were President of the United States or you were a County Commissioner," Strimling said.
While Maine's decision to disqualify Trump from ballot is the latest, it is not the first. Trump was disqualified from Colorado's 2024 primary ballot by the state's Supreme Court. The court declared that Trump is ineligible for the White House under the U.S. Constitution's Insurrection Clause. This is the first time in U.S. history that Section Three of the 14th Amendment has been used to disqualify a presidential candidate.
The Colorado Republican Party appealed that decision Wednesday and voters in that state and across the country will wait to see if the U.S. Supreme Court weights in.
While Maine has just four electoral votes, it’s one of two states to split them. Trump won one of Maine’s electors in 2020, so having him off the ballot there, should he emerge as the Republican general election candidate, could have outsized implications in a race that is expected to be narrowly decided.
That's in contrast to Colorado, which Trump lost by 13 percentage points in 2020 and where he wasn't expected to compete in November if he wins the Republican presidential nomination.
In her decision, Bellows acknowledged that the U.S. Supreme Court will probably have the final word but said it was important she did her official duty.
That won her praise from the former state lawmakers who filed one of the petitions forcing her to consider the case.
"Secretary Bellows showed great courage in her ruling, and we look forward to helping her defend her judicious and correct decision in court. No elected official is above the law or our constitution, and today’s ruling reaffirms this most important of American principles," Republican Kimberly Rosen, independent Thomas Saviello and Democrat Ethan Strimling said in a statement.
Both Strimling and Soboleski took time to remind Mainers that there is a good chance of an appeals process where Bellows' decision will head to the courts for a final ruling.
"And I hope that everybody will let our courts do what they are set up to do so we can ultimately follow the rule of the law and when the decision is ultimately made, we accept that decision and move on," Strimling said.
"My message would be exactly that, have some patience, let it play out through the system and trust that system will be fair, that’s the best message I can give to everybody right now," Soboleski added.