Politics
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Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows confirmed she will seek a fourth and final term in the office, a bid that depends on Democrats holding legislative majorities this November.
Bellows, a Democrat from Manchester, told the Bangor Daily News in a text message that she plans to seek reelection when the new Legislature convenes in December. Maine is one of three states, along with New Hampshire, where lawmakers choose the secretary of state. Members of both chambers meet together and vote as a single body.
The Legislature first sent Bellows, who was then a state senator representing Augusta suburbs, to the office in December 2020 as the first woman ever elected to the post. Lawmakers reelected her to two-year terms in 2022 and 2024. Another term would keep her in the post through 2029, and constitutional officers are limited to four consecutive terms.
Bellows became one of Maine’s most divisive officeholders in late 2023, when she ruled that Donald Trump was disqualified from the primary ballot under the insurrection clause of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously overturned that decision in March 2024.
The announcement came roughly five months after Bellows finished fourth in the June gubernatorial primary won by former House Speaker Hannah Pingree. Bellows finished with roughly 21% of first-preference votes before being eliminated in ranked-choice tabulation.
It also follows a brief detour into the U.S. Senate race following the July exit of former nominee Graham Platner, who faced a rape allegation that he denied. Bellows dropped out following a poor debate showing and one day after current nominee Troy Jackson consolidated support at county nominating caucuses. Bellows said she wanted to refocus on her current job.