Shenna Bellows

Shenna Lee Bellows (born March 23, 1975) is an American politician and civil rights advocate who has served as the 50th Secretary of State of Maine since January 2021. She is the first woman to hold this position. Before entering politics, Bellows worked as a civil rights advocate, serving as executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Maine from 2005 to 2013 and later as executive director of the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine from 2018 to 2020.

Bellows served in the Maine Senate from 2016 to 2020, representing the 14th district. She was the Maine Democratic Party nominee in the 2014 United States Senate election in Maine, losing to incumbent Republican Susan Collins, by over 30%. As Secretary of State, Bellows gained national attention in December 2023 when she ruled that Donald Trump was ineligible for Maine's Republican primary ballot due to his role in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, a decision later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. In March 2025, she announced her candidacy for Governor of Maine in the 2026 Maine gubernatorial election.