Shenna Bellows will seek to be Maine’s secretary of state for 1 last term
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows Announces Bid for Fourth and Final Term
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows has confirmed she will seek a fourth and final term as the state's chief elections official, setting the stage for another politically charged cycle in Augusta.
The Democrat from Manchester, who made history in 2020 as the first woman elected to the post by the state Legislature, said Wednesday that she will pursue re-election when the legislative session convenes. She has since won re-election twice, in 2022 and 2024, and under Maine's constitution, constitutional officers may serve a maximum of four consecutive terms.
Bellows, 51, pointed to her record on voter access and election administration as the cornerstone of her case for another term. She highlighted overseeing record-high voter turnout across Maine and spearheading the implementation of online and automatic voter registration at Bureau of Motor Vehicles offices during her tenure.
"In these challenging times for elections, I bring a strong track record of standing up for the voting rights for every Mainer no matter what the challenge," Bellows said in a text message.
Her bid will require Democrats to maintain their narrow majorities in both the House and the Senate come November. Maine is one of only three states in which the Legislature, rather than the public, votes to appoint the secretary of state — making the composition of the next General Assembly particularly consequential for her ambitions.
The announcement comes after a string of high-profile setbacks at the ballot box. Bellows finished fourth in June's five-way Democratic gubernatorial primary, which was won by former Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree. She also launched an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Sullivan oysterman Graham Platner, a race that was ultimately won by former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, who now seeks to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins. Bellows herself had previously run against Collins in 2014, losing decisively as the Democratic nominee.
Despite those losses, Bellows has remained a nationally prominent figure in election policy. She grew up in Hancock and previously led the ACLU of Maine and the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine before serving as a state senator from 2016 to 2020 in an Augusta-area district that included towns which had supported President Donald Trump in past elections.
Her profile rose sharply in late 2023, when she ruled that Trump was ineligible to appear on Maine's 2024 presidential primary ballot, citing his role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and the 14th Amendment's prohibition on insurrectionists holding certain federal offices. The decision drew national attention but was ultimately overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that states could not enforce such disqualifications. Following her decision, Republicans in the State House made unsuccessful attempts to impeach her.
The Trump administration has also pursued legal action against Bellows in her capacity as overseer of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Last fall, the administration filed a lawsuit seeking access to Maine's voter registration data, but a federal judge dismissed the case in May. The Justice Department separately sued Maine over Bellows' decision to pause the issuance of undercover license plates to federal law enforcement agents earlier this year — a case that remains pending.
Meanwhile, at least one other constitutional officer position may become vacant by December. State Auditor Matt Dunlap, an Old Town Democrat who preceded Bellows as secretary of state, is competing in November's race for the 2nd Congressional District to succeed U.S. Rep. Jared Golden.
State Treasurer Joe Perry, a former state representative from Bangor who assumed office in 2024, also addressed his own political future this week. The 60-year-old Perry said Wednesday he intends to run again for the treasurer's office.
"One thing I learned is … it takes most of your first term to get used to or comfortable with the job, so I'd be ashamed to call it quits now," Perry said in a text message.
The coming months will shape the political landscape for Maine's constitutional offices, with Bellows' latest candidacy adding another layer to an already competitive November election cycle.
