DONALD TRUMP’S supporters have vowed to overcome a ruling by Maine’s Secretary of State Shenna Bellows that he is ineligible to stand in the state’s presidential primary.

Maine is the second state to remove Mr Trump from a ballot, with Colorado’s Supreme Court doing so earlier this month on the same grounds, that people who have “engaged in insurrection” are barred from standing for public office.

Ms Bellows’ ruling is suspended until Maine’s courts have ruled on it, while Colorado’s courts are awaiting a decision by the US Supreme Court on whether the insurrection clause, under section 3 of the 14th amendment to the US constitution, applies to Mr Trump. 

Those opposed to his right to stand argue that his role in the January 6 2021 storming of the US Capitol by supporters who claimed the 2020 election results were fraudulent amounts to insurrection. But it is controversial, since Mr Trump has not yet been convicted of anything in relation to that incident.

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said: “We are witnessing the attempted theft of an election and the disenfranchisement of the American voter.”

Mr Cheung called Ms Bellows “a virulent leftist and hyper-partisan Biden-supporting Democrat” determined to fix the election for “Crooked Joe,” as Mr Trump often refers to President Joe Biden.

If the US Supreme Court determines Section 3 does not apply, it is likely to mean all states abide by that ruling, though not certain. Should a Republican candidate — Mr Trump is the frontrunner for the party’s nomination — not be eligible in some states it could deepen partisan divides across the US.