Maine has become the second state to *** bar *** former President Donald Trump from the state's 2024 primary ballot.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, whose office oversees elections in the state, announced the decision on Thursday, citing an interpretation of the 14th Amendment, which contends that an individual who has supported or engaged in insurrection is ineligible to serve in the highest office.
This move comes after the Colorado Supreme Court's recent ruling, which the Colorado GOP filed an appeal against in the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Trump campaign issued a statement denouncing the decision, vowing to move quickly to fight the Maine secretary of state's "atrocious decision" in state court to prevent it from taking effect.
"The Maine Secretary of State is a former ACLU attorney, a virulent leftist, and a hyper-partisan Biden-supporting Democrat who has decided to interfere in the presidential election on behalf of Crooked Joe Biden," said Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung.
"We are witnessing, in real-time, the attempted theft of an election and the disenfranchisement of the American voter. Democrats in blue states are recklessly and un-Constitutionally suspending the civil rights of the American voters by attempting to summarily remove President Trump’s name from the ballot.
"Make no mistake, these partisan election interference efforts are a hostile assault on American democracy. Biden and the Democrats simply do not trust the American voter in a free and fair election and are now relying on the force of government institutions to protect their grip on power," he added.
Mr. Cheung noted that state and federal courts in Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Arizona, Florida, Rhode Island, and West Virginia, along with 10 more federal jurisdictions, have rejected "these bad-faith, bogus 14th Amendment ballot challenges."
"We know both the Constitution and the American people are on our side in this fight. President Trump’s dominating campaign has a commanding lead in the polls that has dramatically expanded as Crooked Joe Biden’s presidency continues to fail," the Trump campaign spokesperson added.
"We will quickly file a legal objection in state court to prevent this atrocious decision in Maine from taking effect, and President Trump will never stop fighting to Make America Great Again."
Jason Meister, a member of President Trump’s campaign advisory panel in New York, told media outlets that the Maine action would fail. “These 14th amendment challenges are last gasping breaths of a dying party,” he said.
