Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows announced her campaign for U.S. Senate on Thursday, one day after Graham Platner suspended his bid following sexual assault allegations, positioning herself as a unifying figure for Democrats in a race against Republican incumbent Susan Collins.
“After serious consideration, I am announcing my campaign for United States Senate, because I believe that together we can unify Democrats in Maine at this difficult time, and forge ahead with a campaign that fights for working people, stands up to a broken system that’s working against us, and defeats Susan Collins,” Bellows wrote in a post on X.
Platner, the Democratic primary winner who had surged as a progressive outsider, announced Wednesday evening that he was suspending campaign operations after a woman accused him of sexual assault in 2021. Platner denied the allegations, calling them “all false.” The exit cleared the way for Maine Democrats to select a replacement nominee by July 27 through a state party convention process.
Bellows brings a long record in Maine politics and civil rights advocacy. She served as executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine from 2005 to 2013 and later led the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine from 2018 to 2020, according to her official biography. She was elected to the Maine State Senate in 2016 and served two terms representing District 14 before becoming Maine’s first female Secretary of State in January 2021.
In her role as Secretary of State, Bellows has built a national profile, often clashing with President Donald Trump over election administration. Most notably, she ruled in 2023 that Trump could not appear on Maine’s 2024 GOP presidential primary ballot, citing his conduct related to the January 6 Capitol attack. The Supreme Court unanimously overturned her decision in March 2024.
Bellows is not new to statewide Senate races. She challenged Collins in 2014 and lost by nearly 37 points, a defeat likely to draw scrutiny as she makes her case to voters this cycle. The rematch, if Bellows secures the nomination, would pit two candidates with sharply different political trajectories: Collins, seeking a sixth term as a Republican in a state that voted for Kamala Harris in 2024, and Bellows, now with five additional years of executive experience and a higher public profile.
Several other Democrats have announced bids to replace Platner, including Nirav Shah, the former Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention director who also lost in this year’s Democratic gubernatorial primary; Troy Jackson, the former Maine Senate president; Dan Kleban, Maine Beer Company co-founder; and Jordan Wood, a former Capitol Hill staffer. Shah, who led Maine through the COVID-19 pandemic and has high name recognition statewide, announced his candidacy Thursday morning, saying “establishment politicians have failed us” and calling for an outsider to “take on the broken system” Collins has upheld.
Bellows’ entry into the race marks the second time she has challenged Collins, but under vastly different circumstances. In 2014, Bellows was transitioning from eight years leading the ACLU of Maine. Now, she carries the weight of a prior loss while holding the state’s top election office, a position that has given her both visibility and controversy as she navigated disputes over ballot access and voting procedures during the Trump era.
Sources
- Politico — Bellows’ official announcement, her background, and context on the Democratic replacement process
- The Hill — Bellows’ Senate bid announcement, her prior 2014 race against Collins, and her civil rights background
- Wikipedia — Bellows’ career history, including her role as ACLU Maine director and Holocaust and Human Rights Center director
- NPR — Graham Platner’s suspension of his campaign following sexual assault allegations
