Shenna Bellows Announces “Of, By and For the People” Listening Tour

AUGUSTA, ME: After a strong launch to her campaign, Secretary Shenna Bellows is hitting the road to listen to Mainers across the state about what they need from their government. 

“I have a vision for building a Maine where everyone can thrive— but no one knows what they need more than Mainers themselves. That’s why I’ll be traveling across the state to hear from folks about how our state can work better.” 

Over the next few weeks Secretary Bellows will visit community events and host house parties in  a variety of towns including: 

• Presque Isle

• Hancock

• Seal Harbor

• Gouldsboro

• Machias 

• Skowhegan 

• Manchester

• Gardiner

• Lewiston

• Camden

• Newcastle

• Harpswell

• Brunswick

• Westbrook

• Portland

• Scarborough

• Saco

• Cape Neddick 

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MAINE BEACON: Maine People’s Alliance endorses Shenna Bellows in 2026 Democratic Gubernatorial Primary

MPA’s board of directors voted to back [Shenna] Bellows based on her long record of advocacy and public service. In a statement, MPA board co-chair Gina Morin of Auburn praised Bellows’ leadership and values.

“Shenna Bellows came from incredibly humble beginnings to become a person who gives more of herself than we can describe,” Morin said. “She’s been a champion of women, children, people with low incomes, older people, and workers. She’s stood up to bullies, defended the rights of marginalized people, and shown us what good government looks like.”

Bellows, who was raised in a low-income household in rural Hancock County, has built a career focused on civil liberties, voting rights, and access to healthcare. Before being elected Secretary of State in 2020, she served as executive director of the ACLU of Maine and as a state senator.”

[READ MORE]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Bellows for Maine Releases “No Shortcuts” Launch Video

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, April 2, 2025

CONTACT:
Press@shennabellows.com 

Bellows for Maine Releases “No Shortcuts” Launch Video

“This is a moment that calls for leadership, boldness, action.”

Augusta, ME: A week after launching her campaign for governor and raising $200,000, the Bellows for Maine campaign is releasing its launch video, “No Shortcuts,” highlighting Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ working class background and outlining her vision for Maine.

“From my childhood in Hancock County to the Secretary of State’s office I’ve always been guided by the values my parents taught me: work hard, no shortcuts,” said Shenna Bellows. “With a greedy unelected billionaire in Washington demolishing our country, we need leadership, boldness, and action to meet this moment. I’m honored to have the support of so many Mainers already and look forward to earning your votes.”

Last Wednesday, Bellows announced her campaign for Governor at two events in Hancock and Augusta surrounded by hundreds of family, friends, and supporters. 

The Bellow for Maine launch video includes footage and audio from the Hancock and Augusta campaign events and highlights Bellow’s working class background, her experience growing up in rural Maine without electricity and running water, and the values her parents taught her: to work hard and take no shortcuts, to be honest, and to take care of her community.

Bellows speaks of her leadership in the marriage equality campaign at the ACLU, her record fighting for abortion access and reproductive freedom, her success in winning property relief as a state senator, her role improving services for Mainers at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, and her decision to remove Donald Trump from the ballot last winter.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT 

Secretary Bellows: Now more than ever we need a new day in America. We need new leadership.

And I’m proud to announce that I am Shenna Bellows and I’m running for Governor of the great state of Maine. 

 Growing up in Maine, like so many families, we didn’t have it easy.

We didn't have running water or electricity until I was in the fifth grade. But somehow, my parents never made us feel poor. 

My dad was a carpenter who worked hard to support us.

My mom worked factory jobs making light bulbs and Christmas wreaths.

My parents taught me that if you want something, you work hard. No shortcuts. No excuses.

And while we’re paying our taxes or helping our parents measure out their medications, our country is being demolished by a greedy, unelected billionaire who thinks his dollars are more powerful than our voices

Right now we need leaders who will meet the moment.

Leadership was when I won a state senate seat that voted for Donald Trump and voted for me that same year.

I ran on promises to fight for property tax relief and safe drinking water. And I delivered to my district…and I was re-elected time and time again.

Leadership was stepping up as Maine’s Secretary of State. I brought online appointments to the BMV so people can get in, get out, and get home.

And above all, leadership means doing what is right, even when it’s hard. 

Last winter, I issued a decision that declared Donald Trump ineligible to be on the ballot because of his incitement of the January 6th insurrection. 

News Clip: Maine’s top election official has now disqualified Donald Trump from the ballot in that state…

Secretary Bellows: And because of that decision, my family and I were targeted, threatened, and harassed.  

But I stayed in office and did my job…because Mainers elected me to do right by them, to uphold the constitution and the law of the land.

 As your next Governor, I’ll fight for affordable housing, and good paying jobs to help working families prosper. I’ll fight for a fair system where the wealthy pay their fair share, and we do right by working people and small business owners. I’ll fight to always keep our kids, people with disabilities and seniors safe. 

This is a moment that calls for leadership, boldness, action. 

Are you with me?

Shenna Bellows Background:

Bellows grew up in Hancock County. At the age of four, her family bought a plot of land in the town of Hancock and spent their first summer living in a tent and the first winter living in the basement. Eventually, Bellows’ father built a log cabin for them, but they did not have running water or electricity in that home until she was in 5th grade.

Her father was a carpenter, and her mother worked as a waitress and in a lightbulb and wreath factory to make ends meet, but they still struggled financially. Bellows worked her way through high school and college as a waitress, babysitter, retail worker, lab research assistant, Subway Sandwich Artist, and in the kitchen at the local lobster pound.

Early in her career, as the Executive Director of the ACLU in Maine, Bellows organized successful campaigns for Maine Choice Coalition and the Coalition for Maine Women to defeat Paul LePage’s attacks on abortion and contraception in 2011. The same year, she co-chaired the statewide Protect Maine Votes campaign to preserve same day voter registration. The following year, she worked to improve consumer privacy, specifically to protect Mainers’ private cell phone data. She helped lead Mainers United for Marriage over the course of seven years to pass same-sex marriage protections in Maine via a popular vote in 2012.

In 2016, Bellows ran for the State Senate in Kennebec County in a district won by Donald Trump. She was re-elected in 2018 and 2020. During her time in the State Senate, she helped pass legislation to: 

• Provide property tax relief for Maine residents

• Streamline medical licensing to bring more doctors to the state

• Ensure equal pay for women

• Provide “Breakfast after the Bell” for Maine students, a program to feed students breakfast at school

• Protect and expand Meals on Wheels for seniors

• Protect workers’ compensation and establish paid sick leave through bipartisan reforms.

In 2021, she was sworn in as Maine’s first woman Secretary of State. As Secretary of State, Bellows has focused on making government work better for Mainers and modernizing the office. Under her leadership, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles began using online appointments so people can get in, get out, and get on with their busy lives. Bellows implemented online voter registration, and automatic voter registration at the BMV, making it easier for Mainers to make their voices heard. Under her leadership, Maine led the nation in voter participation in 2022.

ICYMI: Shenna Bellows Announces Campaign for Governor

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, March 27, 2025

CONTACT:
Press@bellowsformaine.com 

ICYMI: Shenna Bellows Announces Campaign for Governor

Augusta, ME: Yesterday, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows announced her campaign for Governor of Maine in two events surrounded by hundreds of family, friends, and supporters. Following a morning event in Hancock, Maine - Bellows’ hometown - she also announced her candidacy to a group of supporters in Augusta.

LAUNCH RECAP:

Portland Press Herald: Shenna Bellows announces campaign for Maine governor 

Bellows, 50, said her humble beginnings and professional career… position her to protect Maine families and push back against what she sees as the harmful policies coming out of Washington, D.C.

“We’re in this era of oligarchy, where the billionaires in Washington, D.C., are stripping the government for parts, and people here in our state are truly struggling,” Bellows said in an interview Tuesday.

Bellows grew up in the small town of Hancock and now lives in Manchester, which are both in the more conservative 2nd District. She noted she lived in a tent at the age of 4, after her parents bought a plot of land in Hancock and her father, who was a carpenter, built a log cabin from trees they harvested onsite.

Bangor Daily News: Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows will run for governor in 2026
Bellows, who became Maine’s top elections official in 2021 and the first woman to hold the role after serving two terms in the Maine Senate, had been widely viewed for months as a candidate to replace Mills, a Democrat who will wrap up her second and final term next year.

Maine Public: Secretary of State Shenna Bellows announces campaign for Maine governor 

"Seniors, veterans and workers are being targeted by Washington D.C. and no one down there is going to save us," she said. "It's time. We the people here in Maine are going to have to step up and protect ourselves and take care of our own."

Maine Morning Star: Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows officially announces bid for governor

“Because while we’re paying our taxes or helping our parents measure out their medication, our country is being demolished by a greedy, unelected billionaire who thinks his dollars are more powerful than our voices…Who thinks the value of his stock portfolio matters more than the values of our community,” said Bellows.

The Ellsworth American: Shenna Bellows announces she is running for governor

“Maine is the best place on earth,” said Bellows on Wednesday morning. “Maine values and our way of life are worth fighting for.”

Lewiston Sun Journal: Shenna Bellows announces campaign for Maine governor 

Spectrum News: Bellows announces run for Maine governor

Describing herself as a “Downeast dirt road Democrat,” Bellows told supporters at the Viles Arboretum in Augusta that she will fight for the middle class.

“Our farmers, our fishermen, our nurses, our carpenters, our teachers, they’re the drivers of our economy, the pillars of our community and the people we need government looking out for and fighting for and that is what I will do for you as your next governor,” she said.

NewsCenter Maine: Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows announces bid for governor

Those attending the announcement said they feel Bellows is the right fit for the Blaine House.

“I’m excited that we could have in Maine an example of the best of everything we believe is good in our country in one person, and she will be a bright shining light,” Ellen Dohmen said.

WVII: Secretary of State Shenna Bellows announces campaign for governor of Maine 

A high profile candidate has officially entered the race for the 2026 gubernatorial election in Maine…

 WABI: Shenna Bellows formally announces run for governor of Maine

In 2021, Bellows was sworn in as Maine’s first female Secretary of State. 

"...I think that Shenna can take that to the next level and that's really what I'm looking for," said Hancock resident Carol Lowrie.

"We're in a really challenging moment for our democracy and our economy, working families are really struggling, we need bold leadership that will step up to meet the moment," said Bellows.

WMTW: 'We need a new day': Secretary of State Shenna Bellows launches campaign for Maine governor

"I believe every Mainer deserves a home because everyone deserves a safe place to sleep at night,’ Bellows said Wednesday. She said she also believes every child deserves a good education and that ‘our entrepreneurs need bridges not barriers to success."

Bellows also talked about access to health care and the cost of medication at both her events on Wednesday.

"Good health and wellness is a human right. Nobody in this country should be sick because they are poor or poor because they are sick.”

WGME: Shenna Bellows announces run for Maine governor 

The DownBallot: Morning Digest: First major Democrat joins race for Maine's open governorship 

Photos from Hancock

Photos from Augusta

Shenna Bellows Background: 

Bellows grew up in Hancock County. At the age of four, her family bought a plot of land in the town of Hancock and spent their first summer living in a tent and the first winter living in the basement. Eventually Bellows’ father built a log cabin for them, but they did not have running water or electricity in that home until she was in 5th grade.

Her father was a carpenter and her mother worked as a waitress and in a lightbulb and wreath factory to make ends meet, but they still struggled financially. Bellows worked her way through high school and college as a waitress, babysitter, retail worker, lab research assistant, Subway Sandwich Artist, and in the kitchen at the local lobster pound.

Early in her career, as the Executive Director of the ACLU in Maine, Bellows organized successful campaigns for Maine Choice Coalition and the Coalition for Maine Women to defeat Paul LePage’s attacks on abortion and contraception in 2011. The same year, she co-chaired the statewide Protect Maine Votes campaign to preserve same day voter registration. The following year, she worked to improve consumer privacy, specifically to protect Mainer’s private cell phone data. She helped lead Mainers United for Marriage over the course of seven years to pass same-sex marriage protections in Maine via a popular vote in 2012.

In 2016, Bellows ran for the State Senate in Kennebec County in a district won by Donald Trump. She was re-elected in 2018 and 2020. During her time in the State Senate, she helped pass legislation to: 

• Provide property tax relief for Maine residents

• Streamline medical licensing to bring more doctors to the state

• Ensure equal pay for women

• Provide “Breakfast after the Bell” for Maine students, a program to feed students breakfast at school

• Protect and expand Meals on Wheels for seniors

• Protect workers’ compensation and establish paid sick leave through bipartisan reforms.

In 2021, she was sworn in as Maine’s first woman Secretary of State. As Secretary of State, Bellows has focused on making government work better for Mainers and modernizing the office. Under her leadership, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles began using online appointments so people can get in, get out, and get on with their busy lives. Bellows implemented online voter registration, and automatic voter registration at the BMV, making it easier for Mainers to make their voices heard. Under her leadership, Maine led the nation in voter participation in 2022.

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Learn more online at BellowsForMaine.com

MAINE PUBLIC RADIO: Secretary of State Shenna Bellows Announces Campaign for Maine Governor

MARCH 26, 2025 - Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows says she's running for governor next year. As Steve Mistler reports, Bellows is the second Democrat to announce their intent to replace Gov. Janet Mills.

Bellows has been involved in state politics for two decades, first as the director of the ACLU of Maine and more recently as Maine's top election official. In between, she challenged Republican Sen. Susan Collins in 2014 and later won a state Senate seat in a swing district just outside of Augusta.

Bellows says she's running because Mainers are facing threats from the Trump administration, and will have to take action.

"Seniors, veterans and workers are being targeted by Washington D.C. and no one down there is going to save us," she said. "It's time. We the people here in Maine are going to have to step up and protect ourselves and take care of our own."

[READ MORE]

MAINE MORNING STAR: Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows Officially Announces Bid for Governor

MARCH 26, 2025 - During her address early Wednesday at the official launch event at the Hancock Community Center, Bellows said “we need leaders who will meet the moment.”

“Because while we’re paying our taxes or helping our parents measure out their medication, our country is being demolished by a greedy, unelected billionaire who thinks his dollars are more powerful than our voices…Who thinks the value of his stock portfolio matters more than the values of our community.”

Bellows has served as Maine’s first female secretary of state since 2021. She garnered national attention last year for initially disqualifying President Donald Trump from the 2024 Republican primary. She’s currently serving her third term as Secretary of State, during which she has focused on making voting more accessible.

“With so much at stake, we need a governor from Maine and for Maine — someone who understands what families here are going through, because they’ve lived it,” Bellow said in a statement. 

“Growing up in Hancock,” she continued, “my family didn’t have much and we struggled to pay the bills, but we worked for everything we had. It’s that perspective that will allow me to fight for families, workers, small businesses and children every single day as governor.”

Bellows, who now lives in Manchester, has worked in Democratic politics in Maine for more than a decade. Bellows served in the Maine Senate from 2016 to 2020, representing 11 towns in southern Kennebec County. She also served as Senate chair of the Labor and Housing Committee and was on the Judiciary Committee. Before her tenure as a state legislator, she ran as the Democratic nominee against U.S. Sen. Susan Collins for U.S. Senate in 2014.

Before running against Collins, Bellows served as executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine. Throughout her career, she’s consulted for and worked with several advocacy organizations including Sierra Club’s Maine Chapter, Consumers for Affordable Healthcare and the Maine Women’s Lobby. She also worked on campaigns to pass marriage equality in Maine, and co-chaired a successful 2011 statewide ballot campaign to restore same-day voter registration. 

As Secretary of State, her office has focused on modernizing technology, implementing online voter registration and automatic voter registration at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, among other initiatives. In 2022, Maine had the highest voter participation in the nation, and the November 2024 election yet again saw record turnout.

[READ MORE] 

THE ELLSWORTH AMERICAN: Shenna Bellows Announces She is Running for Governor

March 26, 2025 - Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who grew up in Hancock County, has thrown her hat in to the ring to vie to be the next governor of Maine.

Bellows, a Democrat, made her campaign announcement at a breakfast event in her hometown of Hancock Wednesday morning.

“Today, I’m proud to announce I’m running for governor,” said Bellows, according to video from the event. “I love Maine. I know that we have the power to lead this country, quality education, and economic development and climate resilience.”

A graduate of Ellsworth High School who grew up in Hancock, Bellows went on to lead the ACLU of Maine as its executive director early in her career. She later ran for and was elected to a state senate seat in Kennebec County in 2016 and was re-elected in 2018 and 2020, before being elected by the Legislature as Maine’s secretary of state in December of 2020.

“Maine is the best place on earth,” said Bellows on Wednesday morning. “Maine values and our way of life are worth fighting for.”

Citing her work in the Senate, Bellows said she helped pass legislation to provide property tax relief, ensure equal pay for women, provide food options for children and seniors and to protect workers’ comp, among other things.

As governor, Bellows said she would “work hard to modernize our services to better serve the people of Maine” and to send a message that “all are welcome here.”

During her time as secretary of state, Bellows said improvements that have been made include online appointments at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV), online voter registration and automatic voter registration at the BMV. Bellows noted that Maine led the nation in voter participation in 2022.

[READ MORE]

SPECTRUM NEWS: Bellows Announces Run for Maine Governor

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows announced a run for governor today, making her the second prominent Democrat to express interest in or fully enter the 2026 race.

Describing herself as a “Downeast dirt road Democrat,” Bellows told supporters at the Viles Arboretum in Augusta that she will fight for the middle class.

“Our farmers, our fishermen, our nurses, our carpenters, our teachers, they’re the drivers of our economy, the pillars of our community and the people we need government looking out for and fighting for and that is what I will do for you for you as your next governor,” she said.

Bellows, 50, is a graduate of Ellsworth High School and Middlebury College who has served as executive director of the ACLU in Maine, a state senator and in 2021, she was sworn in as Maine’s first female Secretary of State.

Bellows made headlines last year when she decided to exclude President Donald Trump from GOP primary ballots because of the riots at the U.S. Capitol, a decision she reversed following a Supreme Court ruling in a related case.

“Because of that decision, my family was targeted, threatened and harassed,” she said. “But I stayed in office and I did my job.”

[READ MORE]

NEWSSCENTER MAINE: Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows announces bid for governor

MARCH 26, 2025 - Bellows made the announcement Wednesday morning at the Hancock Community Center, returning to the town where she grew up.  

"I believe now more than ever we need a new day in America. That begins with new leadership. And I'm proud and humbled to announce that today I announced my run for governor for the great state of Maine," Bellows said to a room of family, friends, and supporters. 

Bellows attended Ellsworth High School, where she ran cross-country and track, before she went to Middlebury College. 

Bellows is the first woman to serve as Maine secretary of state and was sworn into office in 2021. 

Prior to her tenure as secretary of state, Bellows served as a state senator and was the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine. 

She also ran as a Democratic challenger for U.S. Senate against incumbent Sen. Susan Collins in 2014 but lost to the senior senator. 

In 2016, Bellows ran a successful campaign for Maine Senate, representing her new home residence of Manchester and 10 other central Maine communities. She was re-elected and served as a state senator through 2020. 

Bellows currently serves as Maine's secretary of state and has since 2021. 

Those attending the announcement said they feel Bellows is the right fit for the Blaine House.

“I’m excited that we could have in Maine an example of the best of everything we believe is good in our country in one person, and she will be a bright shining light,” Ellen Dohmen said.

[READ MORE]

WABI: Shenna Bellows Formally Announces Run for Governor of Maine

March 26, 2025 - In 2021, Bellows was sworn in as Maine’s first female Secretary of State. 

"...I think that Shenna can take that to the next level and that's really what I'm looking for," said Hancock resident Carol Lowrie.

"We're in a really challenging moment for our democracy and our economy, working families are really struggling, we need bold leadership that will step up to meet the moment," said Bellows.

[READ MORE]

WMTW: 'We need a new day': Secretary of State Shenna Bellows Launches Campaign for Maine Governor

"I believe every Mainer deserves a home because everyone deserves a safe place to sleep at night,’ Bellows said Wednesday. She said she also believes every child deserves a good education and that ‘our entrepreneurs need bridges not barriers to success."

Bellows also talked about access to health care and the cost of medication at both her events on Wednesday.

"Good health and wellness is a human right. Nobody in this country should be sick because they are poor or poor because they are sick.”

[READ MORE]

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD: Shenna Bellows Announces Campaign for Maine Governor

Bellows, 50, said her humble beginnings and professional career… position her to protect Maine families and push back against what she sees as the harmful policies coming out of Washington, D.C.

“We’re in this era of oligarchy, where the billionaires in Washington, D.C., are stripping the government for parts, and people here in our state are truly struggling,” Bellows said in an interview Tuesday.

Bellows grew up in the small town of Hancock and now lives in Manchester, which are both in the more conservative 2nd District. She noted she lived in a tent at the age of 4, after her parents bought a plot of land in Hancock and her father, who was a carpenter, built a log cabin from trees they harvested onsite.

[READ MORE]