ICYMI: Shenna Bellows Announces Campaign for Governor
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, March 27, 2025
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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
