AUGUSTA, Maine — A Maine judge on Wednesday put Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ decision to deem former President Donald Trump ineligible for the state’s Republican presidential primary on hold until the U.S. Supreme Court settles a similar case in Colorado.
Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy sidestepped the thorny legal issues at play in the case, officially sending Bellows’ decision back to her and ordering her to conform it to the ruling coming from the nation’s high court. It was a partial victory for Trump, whose lawyers asked the court to delay action on the appeal until the Colorado case was settled.
The judge’s move officially leaves the Republican slate in limbo ahead of the March 5 election. Trump’s name will remain on ballots that must be sent to overseas and military voters starting Saturday. The high court will then hear arguments Feb. 8 on the Colorado case.
Trump had asked the Maine court to delay its consideration of the appeal until the Supreme Court resolved the Colorado case. Bellows opposed a delay, saying a ruling would avoid harm and confusion for voters ahead of both states’ primaries on March 5, known as Super Tuesday.
In a 17-page ruling, Murphy attempted to strike a middle ground. She agreed with Trump that the high court should be allowed to settle the matter, but the judge also sided with Bellows in saying that the court could not ignore a legal deadline to issue a ruling.
“The Court concludes that a remand to the Secretary pending a decision by the Supreme Court on these unprecedented issues will promote consistency and avoid voter confusion in the weeks before the primary election,” Murphy wrote.
Bellows, a Democrat, had made Maine one of two states after Colorado to bar the former president from the March 5 ballot, charging that he violated Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by engaging in insurrection by inciting the Capitol riots of Jan. 6, 2021.
“We’re reviewing the decision and have no comment at this time,” Bellows spokesperson Emily Cook said Wednesday.
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said Murphy’s ruling “is a correct action, and we remain steadfast in our opposition to these bad-faith shams.”
The secretary of state became a polarizing figure with national exposure after her decision. Republicans led an effort to impeach Bellows that failed last week in the state House of Representatives. Trump’s attorneys appealed the ruling to Murphy’s Augusta court and argued Bellows had no authority to make the decision, also calling her a “biased decisionmaker.”
Bellows has noted she was fulfilling her duties under Maine law to consider three challenges to Trump’s eligibility and weigh arguments the challengers and Trump’s attorneys presented to her before determining the former president violated the 14th Amendment’s ban on a person holding office if they “engaged in insurrection.”
The former president won the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses on Monday and remains the favorite to win the nomination to take on President Joe Biden. Only two major candidates — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley — remain in the race.
Trump’s name remains on the Maine ballot given the Saturday deadline to send ballots to military and overseas voters. If the courts deem Trump ineligible, Bellows is required to immediately distribute a notice to local election officials informing Mainers that votes for him will not be counted. If courts rule for Trump, votes for him will be counted.
