Shenna Bellows | |
|---|---|
 Bellows in 2014 | |
| 50thSecretary of State of Maine | |
| Assumed office January 4, 2021 | |
| Governor | Janet Mills |
| Preceded by | Matthew Dunlap |
| Member of theMaine Senate from the14th district | |
| In office December 7, 2016 – December 2, 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Earle McCormick |
| Succeeded by | Craig Hickman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Shenna Lee Bellows (1975-03-23)March 23, 1975 (age 50) |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Education | Middlebury College (BA) |
Shenna Lee Bellows (born March 23, 1975) is an American politician and civil rights advocate who has served as the 50thSecretary of State of Maine since January 2021. She is the first woman to hold this position.[1] Before entering politics, Bellows worked as a civil rights advocate, serving as executive director of theAmerican Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Maine from 2005 to 2013 and later as executive director of the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine from 2018 to 2020.[2]
Bellows served in theMaine Senate from 2016 to 2020, representing the 14th district. She was theMaine Democratic Party nominee in the2014 United States Senate election in Maine, losing to incumbent RepublicanSusan Collins, by over 30%. As Secretary of State, Bellows gained national attention in December 2023 when sheruled thatDonald Trump was ineligible for Maine's Republican primary ballot due to his role in theJanuary 6 United States Capitol attack, a decision later overturned by theU.S. Supreme Court.[3] In March 2025, she announced her candidacy forGovernor of Maine in the2026 Maine gubernatorial election.[4]
Shenna Bellows was born on March 23, 1975, inGreenfield, Massachusetts, to Dexter Bellows, a carpenter, and Janice Colson, a nurse. She was raised inHancock, Maine, where she attended Hancock Grammar School. According to Bellows, her family experienced economic hardship during her childhood, living without running water or electricity until she was in fifth grade.[5][6]
At age 15, Bellows participated in theAFS–USA foreign exchange program inCampos, Brazil. She graduated from Ellsworth High School in 1993 and earned aBachelor of Arts degree fromMiddlebury College. During high school and college, she worked as a research assistant at theMount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, contributing to published research on marine fish physiology.[7] During her junior year at Middlebury, she studied abroad for a semester inSan José, Costa Rica.
Bellows served as executive director of the ACLU of Maine for eight years. In that role, she built coalitions with bothRepublicans and Democrats to pass privacy and civil rights laws.[8] She was a leader of Mainers United for Marriage, working for seven years to passsame-sex marriage in Maine.[9] She was a leader on voting rights and co-chaired the 2011 Protect Maine Votes campaign to restore same day voter registration.[10][11] Most recently, she organized a successful privacy campaign to require warrants for access to private cell phone communications, and she led the opposition to warrantless drone surveillance.[12]
During her time at the ACLU, Bellows was a leader in the Maine Choice Coalition and the Coalition for Maine Women.[13] She was recognized for her work to advance women’s health and reproductive choice by awards from the University of Maine Women’s Studies Department,[14] Mabel Wadsworth Women’s Health Center,[15] the American Association of University Women,[16] the Frances Perkins Center[17] and the Maine Democratic Party.
Prior to her work at the ACLU of Maine, Bellows was the national field organizer at the ACLU in Washington, D.C., organizing nationwide civil liberties campaigns including opposition to the Patriot Act, where she built broad coalitions that included librarians and gun owners alike.[18]
Bellows was anAmeriCorps VISTA volunteer inNashville, Tennessee. There she assisted a start-up non-profit, Community IMPACT! in developing an asset building program to promote educational and economic empowerment for young people in Nashville’s largest public housing project.[19]
Bellows served as a small business developmentPeace Corps volunteer in La Arena deChitré,Panama. In Panama, she launched a micro-lending program for artisans, started aJunior Achievement entrepreneurship program at a local high school, and was President ofWomen In Development/Gender and Development, dedicated to advancing economic and educational opportunity for women and girls.[20]
From 1997 to 1999 Bellows worked as a researcher and recruiter for Economists Incorporated, a privately held economic consulting firm specializing in microeconomic analysis in antitrust, regulatory and legal contexts in Washington, D.C.[21]
Bellows launched her candidacy for theUnited States Senate in2014 on October 23, 2013.[22][23] In November, she was defeated.
Bellows announced on March 4, 2016, that she would run for the Maine Senate in district 14, including her hometown of Manchester and ten other towns in theAugusta area. She ran as a publicly financed candidate.[24] Bellows won election to the Maine Senate on November 8, 2016, and took office on December 7, 2016. She won reelection to the Maine Senate in 2018, defeating Republican Matt Stone with 57.9% of the vote.[25] She was reelected again in 2020, winning 56% of the vote over Republican Mark Walker.[26] Bellows resigned from the Senate on December 2, 2020.[27] A special election was scheduled for March 2021.[27]
In December 2020, Bellows was electedSecretary of State of Maine. She is the first female to hold the position.[28] In Maine, the secretary of state is elected biannually in December by a joint session of the Maine Legislature for a term that begins in January.[29]
In March 2025, Bellows announced her candidacy in the2026 Maine gubernatorial election.[30]
In December 2023, five Maine voters filed challenges to former presidentDonald Trump's petition to appear on the 2024 Republican presidential preference primary ballot in Maine.[31] On December 15, 2023, Bellows held a public evidentiary hearing to consider the validity of those challenges.[31][32] On December 28, 2023, sheruled that Trump would be barred from the Maine primary ballot due to his conduct during theJanuary 6 United States Capitol attack, pending appeal.[33][34]
After ruling Trump ineligible, Bellows wasdoxxed, with herhome address,phone number, and otherpersonal data information published online.[35] Bellows was alsoswatted on December 29, 2023.[36] The incident was part of theseries of violent threats against politicians, activists, and government buildings.[36] On January 3, 2024,bomb threats were further made against theMaine State Capitol, which led it to beevacuated, in what has been described as a likely continuation of thethreats.[37]
On January 2, 2024, Trump appealed Bellows' December 28 decision to theMaine Superior Court.[38] The Superior Court ordered Bellows to reconsider her disqualification decision pending a ruling from theUnited States Supreme Court on Trump's ballot access. Bellows unsuccessfully appealed the Superior Court ruling to theMaine Supreme Court, where her request was dismissed.[39]
Bellows' disqualification of Trump, along with those of two other states, was overturned by the United States Supreme Court in a unanimous ruling inTrump v. Anderson on March 4, 2024.[40] Bellows rescinded her disqualification of Trump from ballot access the same day.[39]
Bellows supportsabortion rights, describing herself as "a strong advocate for women's healthcare and reproductive freedom including access toabortion andcontraception".[41] Bellows wants to greatly decrease subsidies for large agricultural corporations.[41] Bellows opposes theCitizens United v. FEC decision, and supportspublic financing of elections and strong disclosure requirements.[41] Bellows opposes thedeath penalty.[41] Bellows supports large cuts to the defense budget, and largely opposes military intervention by the U.S., saying "we cannot afford to be the world's military policeman".[41] Bellows supports federal regulation ofgreenhouse gas emissions tocombat climate change.[41] Bellows opposes efforts to repeal theAffordable Care Act, and supports expanding coverage through theMedicaid andMedicare programs.[41] Bellows led the effort to enactmarriage equality in Maine as the head of Mainers United for Marriage.[41][42] She supports federal anti-discrimination protections againstLGBT people.[43] In 2014, Bellows supported increasing the federalminimum wage to $10.10, and indexing it to inflation.[43] In 2016, she supported aballot initiative to gradually raise Maine’s minimum wage to $12 by 2020.[44] Bellows advocates for eliminating the cap on income taxable under thesocial security payroll tax in order to increase benefits.[41] Bellows supports decreasing the tax burden on lower- and middle-income families, as well as small businesses, but wants to "make sure the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share" and does not support lowering taxes for high-earners or corporations.[41] Bellows supports large increases incorporate andcapital gains taxes, as well as the personal income tax rates for higher-earning brackets.[41]
Bellows lives with her husband, Brandon Baldwin.[22]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Shenna Bellows | 1,947 | 81.74 | |
| Democratic | Terry Berry | 435 | 18.26 | |
| Total votes | 2,382 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Shenna Bellows | 9,125 | 43.0 | |
| Republican | Bryan Cutchen | 8,071 | 38.1 | |
| Independent | Joseph Pietroski | 4,008 | 18.9 | |
| Total votes | 21,204 | 100.0 | ||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Shenna Bellows | 47,909 | 73.6% | |
| Other and Blank | 17,176 | 26.4% | ||
| Total votes | 65,085 | 100.0% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Susan Collins | 413,505 | 67.0% | |
| Democratic | Shenna Bellows | 190,254 | 30.8% | |
| Total votes | 603,759 | 100.0% | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromMaine (Class 2) 2014 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Secretary of State of Maine 2021–present | Incumbent |
Statewide political officials ofMaine | ||
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