Donald Trump appeals Shenna Bellows' decision to disqualify him from Maine's ballot

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

51% : The appeal asks the Superior Court to overturn Bellows' decision and place Trump back on the ballot for Maine's GOP primary, which is March 5.Bellows, who put her ruling on hold while the appeal plays out, was thrust into the national spotlight by becoming the first secretary of state to deem the GOP frontrunner ineligible for the 2024 presidential primary.
42% : A Superior Court judge in Augusta will hear the appeal, which was expected after Bellows, a Democrat, ruled Dec. 28 that Trump violated Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution -- which bars anyone who "engaged in insurrection" from holding office -- by inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol.
35% : The Maine Supreme Judicial Court could also take up any appeal of a Superior Court decision, but the U.S. Supreme Court, with a conservative majority that Trump cemented during his first term in office from 2017 to 2021, will likely have the final say nationally on his ballot eligibility.
34% : The challengers argued evidence was clear Trump violated the 14th Amendment, ratified after the Civil War to keep former Confederates out of the government.
29% : Other attempts to disqualify Trump under the 14th Amendment argument raised in August by two conservative law professors have failed, with the Michigan Supreme Court and California's Democratic secretary of state among the authorities in recent weeks to keep him on the ballot.
29% : Bellows concluded in her ruling that Trump "used a false narrative of election fraud to inflame his supporters and direct them to the Capitol," also saying that the former president "was aware of the likelihood for violence and at least initially supported its use given he both encouraged it with incendiary rhetoric and took no timely action stop it.
22% : Trump, the first former U.S. president to be indicted in history, is facing four pending criminal cases, including one alleging he sought to overturn President Joe Biden's victory over him in the 2020 election.
20% : The Maine decision came about a week after the Colorado Supreme Court also ruled Trump ineligible under the same section of the 14th Amendment.
14% : Trump's appeal to the Superior Court said he is "aggrieved" by Bellows' decision, calling the secretary of state a "biased decisionmaker who should have recused herself" and reiterating its arguments that Bellows lacked the legal authority and erred in disqualifying Trump.
11% : AUGUSTA, Maine -- Former President Donald Trump's attorneys filed an appeal Tuesday of last week's decision by Secretary of State Shenna Bellows to rule Trump ineligible for Maine's 2024 Republican primary ballot.
7% : "Republicans have sharply criticized Bellows for disqualifying Trump, with Rep. John Andrews, R-Paris, calling for impeachment.

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