27 Facts About Shenna Bellows

Shenna Lee Bellows was born on March 23,1975 and is an American politician and a non-profit executive director.

Shenna Bellows was executive director of the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine between 2018 and 2020, and she served as the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine between 2005 and 2013.

On December 28,2023, Shenna Bellows ruled that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump would be barred from the Maine primary ballot due to his conduct during the January 6 United States Capitol attack, pending an appeal.

Shenna Bellows is a candidate for Governor of Maine in 2026.

Shenna Bellows was born on March 23,1975, in Greenfield, Massachusetts, the eldest daughter of Dexter Bellows, a carpenter, and Janice Colson, a nurse.

Shenna Bellows grew up in a struggling family; she claims her family did not have running water or electricity, which the family could not afford, until she was in the fifth grade.

Shenna Bellows served as executive director of the ACLU of Maine for eight years.

Shenna Bellows was a leader of Mainers United for Marriage, working for seven years to pass same-sex marriage in Maine.

Shenna Bellows was a leader on voting rights and co-chaired the 2011 Protect Maine Votes campaign to restore same day voter registration.

Shenna Bellows was recognized for her work to advance women's health and reproductive choice by awards from the University of Maine Women's Studies Department, Mabel Wadsworth Women's Health Center, the American Association of University Women, the Frances Perkins Center and the Maine Democratic Party.

Shenna Bellows served as a small business development Peace Corps volunteer in La Arena de Chitre, Panama.

From 1997 to 1999 Shenna 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, DC.

Shenna Bellows launched her candidacy for the United States Senate in 2014 on October 23,2013.

Shenna 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 the Augusta area.

Shenna Bellows won election to the Maine Senate on November 8,2016, and took office on December 7,2016.

In December 2020, Shenna Bellows was elected Secretary of State of Maine.

Shenna Bellows is the first female to hold the position.

Shenna Bellows announced she would run for Governor of Maine in 2026.

On December 15,2023, Shenna Bellows held a public evidentiary hearing to consider the validity of those challenges.

The Superior Court ordered Shenna Bellows to reconsider her disqualification decision pending a ruling from the United States Supreme Court on Trump's ballot access.

Shenna Bellows unsuccessfully appealed the Superior Court ruling to the Maine Supreme Court, where her request was dismissed.

Shenna Bellows rescinded her disqualification of Trump from ballot access the same day.

Shenna Bellows wants to greatly decrease subsidies for large agricultural corporations.

Shenna Bellows opposes efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and supports expanding coverage through the Medicaid and Medicare programs.

Shenna Bellows led the effort to enact marriage equality in Maine as the head of Mainers United for Marriage.

In 2014, Shenna Bellows supported increasing the federal minimum wage to $10.10, and indexing it to inflation.

Shenna 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.