AUGUSTA, Maine — State Rep. Laurel Libby (R-Auburn) is escalating her public push for Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) to step aside while pursuing the Democratic nomination for governor, arguing that Maine’s top election official cannot credibly oversee an election in which she is a candidate.
“Maine voters should be able to trust that our Secretary of State is a nonbiased referee, without personal political motivations. Unfortunately, Shenna Bellows has proven herself to be a partisan political actor, and therefore an untrustworthy steward of our elections. She should resign in order to restore voter trust and integrity to the office. No Secretary of State, of any party, should preside over his or her own statewide election,” Libby said.
Libby renewed those calls during an interview on the George Hale and Ric Tyler Show, where hosts and callers discussed whether a sitting secretary of state should “oversee their own election” in both the primary and general election. Libby described the petition response as “exuberant,” saying the issue resonates “whether you are left, whether you are right,” and said she intends to deliver the signatures directly to Bellows’ office.
Libby also trained her fire on the far-left Maine People’s Alliance (MPA), pointing to 2012, when the group publicly called on then–Secretary of State Charlie Summers to step aside while running for higher office, describing it as a “conflict of interest.” Libby argued the standard should apply across party lines and demanded an explanation for what she called an MPA reversal.
“Well, that stand in 2012 wasn’t a principled stand, it was a political stand,” Libby said on the program.
Libby said MPA is now “actively currently collecting signatures to get Secretary of State Shenna Bellows on the ballot,” and argued the situation underscores why she believes Bellows should resign rather than merely hand off election oversight.
“It is very, very simple. Any Secretary of State of any party should not be presiding over an election in which they’re running,” Libby said.
The segment also raised whether Bellows could keep the title while delegating direct election administration, an approach the hosts compared to what Summers did in 2012. Libby acknowledged that such an approach “helps temper the conflict of interest,” but said she does not believe Bellows would truly be walled off from influence “whether it was transparently or behind closed doors.”
During the exchange, Libby also referenced Bellows’ past conduct as secretary of state, including the episode in which Bellows moved to bar former President Donald Trump from Maine’s primary ballot before reversing course after the U.S. Supreme Court weighed in on related litigation. When Ric Tyler noted Bellows ultimately put Trump back on the ballot, Libby dismissed it as political theater.
“I made my statement. My political statement. That was a political move,” Libby said in response to Bellows returning then candidate Donald Trump to the ballot.
Calling out Bellows for playing politics, and another example of the conflict of interest
Bellows has overseeing her own election.
Libby directed listeners to sign the petition at signup.laurellibby.com/bellows, saying it is also linked on her social media.
