Topline
Maine on Thursday blocked Donald Trump from its presidential primary ballot, becoming the second state to bar the former president under a rarely used Constitutional ban on “insurrectionists” holding public office and upping pressure on the Supreme Court to settle whether Trump is eligible to seek the presidency.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has been barred from the primary ballot in Maine.
Key Facts
Maine’s top election official has removed Trump from the state’s 2024 presidential primary ballot, citing the 14th Amendment to the Constitution that bars officials who have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from holding office again.
Trump is “not qualified to hold the office of the President” on account of his actions leading up to the January 6 Capitol riots, said Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows.
Bellows, a Democrat, said she had “little trouble” determining the “unprecedented and tragic” events of Jan. 6 counted as an insurrection and ruled that Trump knew of, incited and supported the attack.
The decision, which came after a group of state residents challenged Trump’s eligibility to be on the ballot, marks the first time a state official has acted unilaterally to remove a presidential candidate under the insurrection clause.
“I do not reach this conclusion lightly,” Bellows said, adding that she is also “mindful… that no presidential candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection.”
The decision is on hold to allow Trump to appeal to state court, which the ex-president’s campaign has vowed to do.
Key Background
Maine has now followed Colorado as the second state to ban Trump from the primary ballot in 2024. In late December, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled to disqualify the former president under the same insurrectionist clause cited by Bellows, determining Trump had “engaged in” insurrection by inciting rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. The ruling won’t take effect until Jan. 4 2024 to give Trump time to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Colorado Republican Party has already asked the court to intervene in the case and it is expected that it will ultimately decide the matter for all states. It is one of several instances where the high court is expected to play a major role in shaping the 2024 presidential election. Polls overwhelmingly place Trump as the leading Republican candidate for the presidential ballot and his legal problems are set to dominate his campaign next year. Trump disputes the charges against him and alleges a politically motivated assault designed to interfere with his latest run at the White House. He is facing criminal charges in federal and state cases surrounding alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election, alleged hush money payments and retaining of classified documents, as well as civil cases and challenges to his presidential candidacy. In many cases, Trump’s team has pursued a strategy of delaying cases as much as possible and if he wins another term in the White House he could direct many of the cases against him to be dropped.
Chief Critic
Trump, who continues to push misinformation and baseless conspiracy theories about his electoral defeat in 2020, disputes allegations of insurrection in the lead up to the Capitol riots and claims he was acting in an official capacity to “ensure election integrity.” In a statement issued after the ruling, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung branded Bellows a “virulent leftist,” according to news reports. “Make no mistake, these partisan election interference efforts are a hostile assault on American democracy,” Cheung said.
What To Watch For
Efforts to bar Trump’s run for the White House in 2024 have largely focused on barring him from state primary ballots and outcomes have been divided. High courts in Michigan and Minnesota have both rejected efforts to have election officials remove Trump from the GOP primary ballot under the 14th Amendment. California’s secretary of state also declined to remove Trump from the state’s ballot on Thursday. Another court decision is expected in Oregon in the coming weeks. The case is likely to be settled by the Supreme Court and Trump is likely to appear on primary ballots as that case plays out and earlier orders are paused.
Further Reading
What Happens if a Presidential Candidate Is Convicted? (NYT)
