Maine disqualifies Donald Trump from the 2024 Republican primaries based on the “insurrection ban” contained in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows decided this. Maine thus becomes the second state after Colorado to ban the former president from the primaries due to the events of January 6, 2021.
«I am aware that no secretary of state has ever deprived a presidential candidate of access to the ballot based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. However, I am also aware that no presidential candidate has ever engaged in an insurrection,” says the Maine Secretary of State. Trump has five days to appeal the decision in state courts. The primaries in Maine and Colorado are scheduled for March 5. The 14th Amendment, in Section 3, states that public officials sworn to uphold the Constitution are barred from future office if they are involved in an “insurrection” or “riot” against the Constitution. The amendment was used against Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his deputy Alexander Stephens (both of whom had served in Congress) but has since rarely been applied and never against a White House candidate. Section 3 was introduced to prevent any civilian or military official who had served in the United States before the Civil War from regaining positions of authority if he had betrayed his country by supporting the Southern Confederacy.
Bellows will not have the final say on Trump’s political career. His decision can be appealed in Maine courts. The US Supreme Court is expected to make a final decision on whether Trump should run for president early next year. The Maine decision shows the potential dangers for Trump if the issue is decided state by state. He lost Colorado by 13 percentage points in 2020 and doesn’t need that to win the presidency. But Maine divides its electoral votes by congressional districts, and Trump has won twice in the state’s 2nd congressional district