PORTLAND, Maine — Republicans seeking to dethrone Maine's secretary of state for excluding former President Donald Trump from the primaries will have great opportunities to impeach a tough and influential Democrat whose party has firm control of both legislative chambers.
Shenna Bellows is the first Secretary of State in history to prevent someone from running for president by using the insurrection clause in the U.S. Constitution. Trump, the early front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, appealed the decision on Tuesday and is expected to soon appeal a similar ban from the Colorado Supreme Court.
When Maine lawmakers returned to the Capitol on Wednesday to begin this year's legislative session, retaliation against Bellows was one of the first orders of business for many Republicans. They filed an impeachment order against her, called on her to resign and encouraged lawmakers to vote her out of office.
“The secretary of state has stepped way over her feet on this issue,” said Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham, the Republican leader of the House of Representatives.
Bellows was elected secretary of state by the Maine Legislature three years ago, and Democrats have since maintained solid majorities in both houses, meaning there is little chance those same lawmakers would change course and oust her. Bellows said Wednesday that she stands by her decision to unliterally remove Trump from the state's ballot and is unmoved by the calls for his removal.
“This is little more than political theater produced by those who disagree with my decision,” Bellows said. “I had a duty to uphold the laws and the Constitution and that's what I did. And what I will continue to do: serve the people of Maine.”
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment prohibits those “engaged in insurrection” from holding office. Some legal scholars say the post-Civil War clause applies to Trump because of his role in overturning the 2020 presidential election and encouraging his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
However, several high-ranking Maine Republicans say they believe Bellows' action was partisan and betrayed the trust of the people of Maine.
Faulkingham said at a news conference that Bellows' decision “threatens to plunge our country into chaos” by encouraging other secretaries to make arbitrary decisions about access to ballots. Rep. John Andrews has filed an impeachment order that he said will be on the legislative calendar next Tuesday or Thursday, and Rep. Shelley Rudnicki said in the House of Representatives that Bellows' “conduct is unacceptable for a secretary of state” and that she should resign.
Bellows, Maine's 50th Secretary of State and the first woman to hold the office, ascended to the position in January 2021. Before that, she had a long history in Maine politics and liberal advocacy.
She grew up in rural Hancock before attending Middlebury College and served as a Democratic state senator from 2016 to 2020. Before that, she ran an unsuccessful campaign against longtime Republican U.S. Senator Susan Collins in 2014, which resulted in a fairly easy victory. for the incumbent, but increased Bellow's name recognition.
She also served as executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine from 2005 to 2013, working on campaigns to legalize same-sex marriage, same-day voter registration and ranked choice voting — all of which were ultimately successful.
A hoax 911 call led police to respond to Bellows' home last week, the day after she removed Trump from the ballot. Democrats and Republicans in the state widely condemned the call, known as “swatting.” Bellows said she, her family and her staff have been the target of more harassment this week.
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills said through a spokesperson Wednesday that the efforts to oust Bellows are “unwarranted.” Mills also believes the question of whether Trump violated the 14th Amendment should be answered by courts.
“Without a judicial decision on that issue, she believes that the decision on whether the former president qualifies for the presidency belongs in the hands of the people,” the spokesman, Ben Goodman, wrote.
The Maine Democratic Party claimed that decisions about ballot access are part of Bellows' duties as secretary of state.
Trump appealed Bellows' decision to a Superior Court in Maine. The Colorado Supreme Court also ruled that Trump was ineligible to run for president, and that decision has been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Bellows said Wednesday: “If the Supreme Court of the United States were to make a decision that would apply to the entire country, I would absolutely support it.”
Although Maine has only four electoral votes, it is one of two states where they are divided. Trump won one of Maine's electors in 2020, so the fact that he would not vote there again should he emerge as a Republican candidate could have major consequences in a race that is expected to be narrowly decided.