Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, who caucuses with Democrats, opposes the move by Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows to exclude former President Donald Trump from the state's 2024 primary ballot.
Bellows cited Trump's alleged role in attempting to overturn the 2020 election results, referencing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which prohibits political candidacy for those engaged in "insurrection or rebellion" against the U.S.
This constitutional provision emerged after the Civil War as a measure to address concerns about former Confederates holding positions of power. It aimed to ensure loyalty to the Union among those who had taken an oath to support the Constitution but had later participated in an insurrection.
Congress has the authority to enforce the provision through legislation, and its application has been historically tied to cases involving those who took part in the Confederate rebellion during the Civil War.
In response to the Bellows decision, King, who voted for Trump's conviction in the former president's second impeachment trial, asserted that the decision on Trump's presidential candidacy should be left to the people through "free and fair elections."
King called it the ultimate check in the constitutional system.
"Absent a final determination of a violation of the 14th Amendment's disqualification clause, I believe the decision … should rest with the people," he said.
Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, who supported Trump's second impeachment, agreed with King, saying the nation's commitment to the rule of law and advocating for Trump's ballot inclusion until proven guilty of insurrection.
"We are a nation of laws; therefore, until he is actually found guilty of the crime of insurrection, he should be allowed on the ballot," Golden said.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who voted for Trump's conviction, also criticized Bellows' decision, expressing concern that it denies voters the opportunity to choose their preferred candidate.
"The secretary of state's decision would deny thousands of Mainers the opportunity to vote for the candidate of their choice, and it should be overturned," Collins said.
Maine's unique process places ballot eligibility challenges under the jurisdiction of the secretary of state rather than with the court system.
Meanwhile, a cohort of Republican legislators in Maine is poised to initiate impeachment proceedings against Bellows.
"I wish to file a Joint Order, or whichever is the proper parliamentary mechanism under Mason's Rules, to impeach Secretary of State Shenna Bellows," state Rep. John Andrews , a Republican, said in a statement Thursday after Bellows, a Democrat, announced her decision, The Washington Examiner reported.
"This is a sham decision that mimics Third-World dictatorships," Maine House Republican leader Billy Bob Faulkingham said. "It will not stand legal scrutiny. People have a right to choose their leaders devoid of mindless decisions by partisan hacks."
The Colorado Republican Party, involved in a similar case in Colorado, has appealed the decision to exclude Trump from its state's ballot to the U.S. Supreme Court.