Maine Demcorat Lawmaker Calls For Trump To Remain On The Ballot

Democrat Rep. Jared Golden of Maine has criticized Maine’s Secretary of State for taking Trump off the ballot in the state.

Rep. Golden, in response to Trump being taken off the ballot, shared, “I voted to impeach Donald Trump for his role in the January 6th insurrection. I do not believe he should be re-elected as President of the United States.

He continued, “However, we are a nation of laws; therefore, until he is found guilty of the crime of insurrection, he should be allowed on the ballot.”

Take a look:

My statement on the Maine Secretary of State's ruling: pic.twitter.com/ByO3XJe1JS

— Congressman Jared Golden (@RepGolden) December 29, 2023

Here’s what The Hill reported:

Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) criticized the decision by the Maine secretary of state to bar former President Trump from the primary ballot Thursday, saying he should only be left off if convicted of a crime.

The moderate Democrat said he believes Trump is responsible for the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, but that he should still be on the electoral ballot.

“I voted to impeach Donald Trump for his role in the January 6th insurrection. I do not believe he should be re-elected as President of the United States,” Golden said in a statement. “However, we are a nation of laws, therefore until he is actually found guilty of the crime of insurrection, he should not be allowed on the ballot.”

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) decided that Trump’s Jan. 6 conducted violated the 14th Amendment’s “insurrection clause” which prevents those who assist in rebellions against the country from holding office.
The landmark decision makes Maine the second state to remove Trump from their primary ballot, after the Colorado Supreme Court ruled the same last week.

In her 34-page decision Thursday, Bellows said that her determination was limited to Maine’s election laws and not reliant on court decisions — or lack of court decisions — about Trump’s conduct.

“The oath I swore to uphold the Constitution comes first above all, and my duty under Maine’s election laws, when presented with a Section 336 challenge, is to ensure that candidates who appear on the primary ballot are qualified for the office they seek,” she wrote.

🚨 JUST IN: Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) says President Trump should NOT be removed from the ballot in Maine, despite democrats’ efforts to do so

LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE! pic.twitter.com/OiLqBBep3H

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) December 29, 2023

Per The Daily Mail:

One of Maine’s Democratic congressmen on Thursday night slammed the decision by his state’s top election official to bar former President Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot.

The reaction illustrates how even many Democrats feel uncomfortable about using legal means to keep Trump out of power rather than relying on the verdict of the electorate.

‘I voted to impeach Donald Trump for his role in the January 6 insurrection,’ said Democratic Rep. Jared Golden. ‘I do not believe he should be reelected as president of the United States.