(USNewsMag.com) – A Democratic member of the House of Representatives is not happy with the decision by the Maine Secretary of State to disqualify former President Donald Trump from his state’s Republican primary ballot for the 2024 presidential election.
Rep. Jared Golden clarified that although he “voted to impeach” Trump “for his role” in the supposed insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, and doesn’t believe the former president “should be re-elected” as commander in chief, he should still “be allowed on the ballot” in Maine. Golden specified that Trump should remain on his state’s ballot “until he is actually found guilty” because the US is “a nation of laws.”
Just before New Year’s celebrations, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows shocked the nation on Thursday, Dec. 28, when she announced that Trump would not be eligible for Maine’s upcoming primary election, citing the controversial insurrection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution. The section in question was signed into law after the Civil War and bans anyone from holding or running for office if they “engaged in insurrection” as part of the Confederacy, with the exception of a two-thirds vote of approval from Congress.
The Maine decision followed a ruling in Colorado a week prior, disqualifying Trump from that state’s ballot in a 4-3 decision. Colorado Republicans challenged the decision before the Supreme Court, which put it on hold temporarily until a final decision.
The decision in Maine only seems to have unified the GOP around their frontrunner. Even some of Trump’s rivals have condemned the decision. Although most Democrats have held their tongue on the matter, some are praising the decision, such as Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine. Pingree accused Trump of inciting “a violent mob” on Jan. 6 to try and “block Congress from certifying” the 2020 election. Democratic Rep. Bill Pascrell of New Jersey made a similar claim, accusing the former president of attempting to “overthrow American democracy” itself.
Golden is one of a few Democrats going against the grain in their party by opposing attempts to ban Trump from the ballot. California Gov. Gavin Newsom also condemned the move after the Colorado decision.
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