Read the Maine decision to remove Trump from the 2024 primary ballot
In March 2021, the Maine Republican Party voted to remove former President Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 Republican primary ballot. The decision came after a vote by the party’s state committee, which comprises members from each of the state’s 16 counties.
The vote to keep Trump off the ballot was passed with a significant majority. Vice Chair Alex Willette of Aroostook County stated that “Trump does not represent the values or the ideals of the Maine Republican Party.” Willette further commented that the decision to remove Trump from the ballot was a statement of principle regarding the Republican Party’s commitment to democracy, truth, and dignity.
The Maine Republican Party’s exclusion of Trump comes after several state Republican parties have passed resolutions aimed at distancing themselves from the former president. In support of this trend, the Republican Party in the state of Maryland passed its own resolution calling out Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric and rebuke of alternative media which had “insinuated false claims about the election.”