Maine GOP chairman says state party will appeal Trump ballot decision

The Maine GOP chairman announced Friday the state party is working to appeal Democrat Secretary of State Shenna Bellows's decision to boot former President Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot.

“This political activism by Shenna Bellows, it’s not going to stand,” GOP Chairman Joel Stetkis said, according to Spectrum News. “At the party, since yesterday, we’ve been working on an appeal to the Maine Superior Court and we’re also reserving the right to return to a caucus system where Shenna Bellows will have absolutely no say in who Mainers choose for the Republican nominee for president.”

On Thursday, Trump was removed from Maine's primary ballot under the Constitution’s insurrection clause. 

The decision was made by Bellows, whom Trump's legal team requested be disqualified from ruling whether or not Trump is eligible for the 2024 ballot. 

Bellows explained her decision during a radio interview.

“My finding was that the events of Jan. 6, 2021 were unprecedented, tragic, they were an attack not only on the Capitol and government officials, but an attack on the rule of law and an insurrection under the Constitution,” she said during the interview.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she disagreed with the decision. 

"Maine voters should decide who wins the election – not a Secretary of State chosen by the Legislature," Collins wrote. "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."