Three Maine lawmakers issued statements criticizing Trump’s removal from ballot

Maine Sens. Angus King, an Independent, and Susan Collins, a Republican, criticized the decision of Maine’s Democratic Secretary of State Shenna Bellows to remove Trump from the 2024 primary ballot. They were joined by Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, in expressing disapproval of the decision.

King said in a statement posted on X Friday that the decision as to whether or not Trump should again be considered from the presidency “should rest with the people as expressed in free and fair elections.”

“This is the ultimate check within our Constitutional system,” King said.

Collins said on X that Maine voters should decide who wins the election and not the Secretary of State, who the state’s legislature selected.

“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,” Collins said.

In his statement, Golden said that, since Trump has not been found guilty of the crime of insurrection, he should be allowed on the ballot.

All three of the lawmakers voted with the full Democratic caucus and five Republicans, which included Collins, to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial in 2021 stemming from the protest at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.