Donald Trump is a threat to our country, our state, our democracy, and our values. As governor, I will stand up to his disregard for the law, his disastrous policies, and the chaos he brings to Maine. I’ve stood up to Donald Trump before, and this plan lays out how we will do so again.
When he spread misinformation about COVID-19, attacked vaccines, and undermined public health, I worked with communities across Maine to keep us safe. We followed data, told the truth, and made decisions based on what was best for Maine families—not what was politically convenient in Washington. Together, we achieved among the highest vaccination rates and lowest age-adjusted death rates in the country. We proved that when Maine leads with honesty, compassion, and common sense, we can get through even the hardest challenges.
Now, many of those threats are back, and they reach beyond public health. Federal actions are putting our elections at risk, undermining reproductive rights, weakening environmental protections, targeting New Mainers, and cutting support for schools and rural hospitals. While Washington fails to act—or worse, takes actions that hurt working families—Maine must step up. We need a plan that is as proactive as it is protective to ensure that current and future Mainers are defended.
This plan lays out the concrete steps I will take as governor to safeguard Maine from the Trump administration’s harmful and outright dangerous policies. It is grounded in a simple belief: government should empower and protect people, not play politics with their lives. As governor, I will use every tool available under state law to stand up for Maine families—just as I have before—and make sure our state remains a place where freedom, fairness, and opportunity are real for everyone.
-Dr. Nirav Shah
Executive Summary: Dr. Shah’s Plan to Safeguard Maine from Trump
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Defend Maine’s elections by safeguarding voter data, strengthening cybersecurity, defending state authority in court, and protecting election workers from threats and intimidation.
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Protect Maine from ICE abuse by ending voluntary state cooperation with mass deportation efforts, strengthening Maine’s limited-cooperation law, requiring visible identification, prohibiting masked enforcement actions, and mandating body cameras and clear conduct standards for all law enforcement operating in Maine.
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Safeguard access to vaccines, prepare Maine for the next pandemic, keep politicians out of medical decisions, and defend rural hospitals from federal cuts.
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Protect Maine’s environment and natural resources as federal climate change protections are rolled back, to strengthen state regulations for clean air, clean water, and natural habitats, and ensure Maine has the tools it needs to protect its environment and the communities that depend on it.
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Protect the right to choose, keep Maine a safe haven for reproductive care, and strengthen maternal health programs.
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Expand special education funding and push back against federal attempts to dictate curriculum or threaten Maine schools.
Defend Our Elections and Voting Rights
Maine has a proud tradition of free, fair, and secure elections, run by trusted local officials and protected from political interference. But Donald Trump has already shown the country what happens when a president refuses to accept the will of the voters—spreading lies about election fraud, pressuring state officials, and trying to bend the system to his own advantage. Now, Trump’s allies are pushing efforts to gain access to sensitive voter data, intimidate election workers, and override state election laws.
This plan constructs proactive legal firewalls designed to protect our democracy. As Maine’s governor, Dr. Shah will not let Washington politicians interfere with our elections or threaten the people who run them. He will protect our election systems, defend the authority of our state, and stand with the public servants who safeguard our democracy every day. As governor, Dr. Shah will:
Maine Election Sovereignty Act
Work with the Legislature to pass a Maine Election Sovereignty Act that protects the state’s authority over its own elections. The law would ensure that no federal directive altering Maine’s election procedures could be implemented unless required by a federal court order, require legislative approval before any major changes to election rules made in response to federal executive actions, clarify limits on voter data-sharing beyond what state law already allows, and prohibit immigration enforcement activity at or near polling places to prevent voter intimidation and suppression.
Protect Maine voters’ personal data
Pass legislation prohibiting the Secretary of State and all state agencies from sharing personal or voter data with federal entities, beyond what is strictly required under federal law. The legislation would also require review by the Attorney General of any federal election-related data requests before the state complies, ensuring Maine voters’ information is protected and any request is legally justified.
Strengthen cybersecurity for election infrastructure
Conduct comprehensive cybersecurity audits of Maine’s election systems and designate election infrastructure as critical state infrastructure for emergency planning and protection.
Establish an Election Protection Task Force
Create an interagency task force to coordinate election security, monitor federal threats, and ensure Maine is prepared to respond to any attempt to interfere with our election systems.
Prepare a legal defense of Maine’s election authority
Direct the Attorney General to develop contingency litigation strategies if the federal government attempts to intrude on Maine’s election policies or procedures, and lead a multi-state coalition to defend state control over election administration.
Support and protect election officials
Publicly affirm confidence in Maine’s election officials, direct the Department of Public Safety to provide protection to clerks facing credible threats, and create a confidential system for reporting harassment or intimidation.
Election Worker Protection Act
Pass an Election Worker Protection Act to protect the people who run our elections by criminalizing threats or harassment against election officials and providing civil remedies for workers who are targeted with intimidation or abuse.
Protect Maine from Federal Immigration Enforcement Abuse
Maine people believe in treating others with dignity, keeping our communities safe, and holding law enforcement to the highest standards. But instead of working toward real, comprehensive immigration reform, Donald Trump has unleashed chaotic, deadly, and often illegal ICE operations that target families, workers, and people with no criminal records. We were told enforcement would focus on the most dangerous offenders. Instead, mothers, fathers, and children are being taken from their homes and communities. That is inhumane, and it goes against Maine’s values.
If the federal government intends to carry out these kinds of operations in our state and terrorize our communities, we will make it clear where Maine stands. As governor, Dr. Shah will use every tool available under state law to protect Mainers and ensure that all law enforcement officials operating in Maine–federal or not–follow basic rules of safety, accountability, and respect.
End all voluntary state cooperation with ICE
Maine must always keep our communities safe, and we will continue working with law enforcement to get dangerous criminals off our streets. But we will not use state resources to carry out mass deportation operations that target families, workers, and people with no criminal records. We will fully enforce Maine’s existing law limiting state and local participation in federal immigration enforcement, and direct all state agencies to end any voluntary cooperation with ICE beyond what federal law strictly requires.
Establish clear training and professional standards for all law enforcement
Issue an executive order requiring that any law enforcement official operating in Maine meets the same professional standards expected of Maine-based officers, with consistent rules for training, conduct, and accountability.
Require body cameras, visible ID, and clear conduct standards
Require all law enforcement officers operating in Maine to:
- Wear active body cameras during interactions with the public or while conducting operations.
- Display clear, visible identification and agency credentials.
- Follow Maine’s use-of-force and conduct standards at all times
Ban all law enforcement officers from wearing a mask
Dr. Shah would ban law enforcement officers–whether federal, state, or local–from wearing masks during interactions with the public or while conducting operations in Maine, except under very narrow circumstances.
Require first aid training and a duty of care
Shah would ensure all law enforcement officers operating in Maine are trained in basic first aid and are required to render aid when someone is injured in the course of an enforcement action.
Strengthen Maine’s limited-cooperation law
Work with the Legislature to strengthen Maine’s existing law by banning additional forms of state and local cooperation with ICE, prohibiting state personnel from assisting in civil immigration enforcement, and closing loopholes that allow indirect support for federal deportation operations.
Keep ICE out of non-public state facilities without a warrant
Pass a law requiring federal immigration agents to present a judicial warrant before entering non-public areas of state buildings, schools, hospitals, or other state-run facilities.
No state contracts that help deportation efforts
Prohibit state agencies from entering into contracts, agreements, or partnerships that provide material support to federal immigration enforcement operations.
Use state authority to hold abusive ICE operations accountable
Direct the Attorney General and state agencies to investigate and take action when federal immigration operations in Maine involve violence, civil rights violations, or abuses of power, and use every available legal tool under state law to protect Maine people and hold bad actors accountable.
Safeguard The Health of Mainers
Maine people deserve a health care system that is affordable, accessible, and grounded in science—not one driven by political ideology or attacks from Washington. But Donald Trump and his allies, including Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., are pushing policies that threaten vaccines, undermine public health, and put rural hospitals and working families at risk – policies that have already contributed to dangerous measles outbreaks and the return of preventable diseases in parts of the country. We cannot let the Trump administration’s conspiracy theorists dictate what care Mainers can receive or when doctors can provide it. As governor, Dr. Shah will stand up for science, protect our health care system, and build on his plan to lower costs, strengthen our workforce, and guarantee care for every Maine family.
Protect access to lifesaving vaccines and keep Maine families informed
Dr. Shah will defend Maine’s science-based approach to vaccination, ensuring that Mainers have access to the vaccines they need, and provide clear, trusted public health information so families, schools, and health care providers can stay safe and up to date—even in the face of misinformation coming from Washington.
Prepare Maine for the next pandemic
Shah will invest in public health infrastructure, strengthen disease surveillance, and build rapid response systems so Maine is ready for future health emergencies—without the chaos, incompetence and political interference we saw from Washington during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keep politicians out of the exam room and protect Maine’s standards of care
As governor, Dr. Shah will stand up to federal attempts to restrict or politicize medical decisions, and use state authority to ensure that doctors in Maine—not Washington politicians—decide when and how patients receive medically necessary treatment. Protect Maine’s right to set its own standards of care.
Protect rural hospitals and local access to care
Fight back against federal cuts to Medicaid and Medicare that threaten rural hospitals, and work with the Legislature to stabilize funding so Mainers can continue to get care close to home.
Climate Change and The Environment
Maine’s natural resources are central to our way of life, our economy, and our identity. But Donald Trump’s policies are weakening the very federal protections states have relied on for decades. Most recently, Trump’s EPA rescinded its “endangerment finding” thereby removing its own authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions at the federal level.
More broadly, the Trump administration has rolled back climate regulations, undermined FEMA, and left states to fend for themselves in the face of stronger storms, flooding, and environmental threats. At the same time, corporate interests are being given more control over climate policy while communities are left to deal with the consequences. As governor, Dr. Shah will take decisive steps to protect our environment, prepare for natural disasters, and lead the transition to clean, affordable energy.
Take state-level action to cut pollution and reduce emissions
As the Trump administration rolls back federal climate protections and abandons the tools the federal government once used to regulate greenhouse gases, states are being left on their own while corporations set the rules. Maine will step up by using state authority to set strong emissions standards, invest in energy efficiency, and protect public health instead of waiting for Washington to act.
Protect Maine’s clean water and natural resources
As the Trump administration rolls back federal clean water protections and weakens safeguards for wetlands, streams, and coastal areas, Maine will step up to defend the natural resources that support our fisheries, tourism, and way of life. This includes strengthening state water quality protections, investing in watershed and coastal resilience, and ensuring corporations cannot pollute the lakes, rivers, and ocean Maine families depend on.
Prepare Maine for growing disaster response needs
With Donald Trump threatening FEMA funding and playing politics with disaster aid for states he doesn’t like, Maine cannot afford to rely on Washington to have our back. Strengthen Maine’s emergency preparedness and resilience planning in case federal disaster response is delayed, weakened, or politicized, and invest in state-level response capacity, emergency shelters, and rapid recovery programs so communities can rebuild quickly after storms, floods, or other climate-driven events.
Protect Maine families from PFAS contamination
While the Trump administration drags its feet on toxic chemical regulation and weakens federal environmental safeguards, Maine will lead the way. Dr. Shah will continue and expand Maine’s nation-leading PFAS protections by strengthening testing, cleanup, and support for affected communities, farmers, and water systems so no family has to worry about toxic chemicals.
Accelerate wind power and clean energy development
With federal policies making it harder to build clean energy, Dr. Shah will streamline state permitting, invest in grid upgrades, and work with communities to responsibly expand onshore and offshore wind—lowering energy costs and creating good-paying jobs in Maine.
Protecting Women’s Health & Reproductive Rights
After Roe v. Wade was overturned, millions of women across the country lost the fundamental right to make their own reproductive health decisions. Donald Trump and his allies made that possible—and now they are pushing even more extreme restrictions from Washington. Maine has chosen a different path, one that respects women, families, and doctors. As governor, Dr. Shah will protect both Maine’s status as a safe haven for reproductive freedom. He will safeguard a woman’s right to choose and make sure every Mainer can access the care they need, no matter what happens at the federal level.
Keep Maine a safe haven for reproductive care
Ensure Maine remains a place where women can safely access legal reproductive services, regardless of where they live.
Ensure that reproductive health clinics can continue to serve patients
Given the Trump administration’s devastating cuts to reproductive health clinics, Dr. Shah will work with the Legislature to ensure stable funding for providers like Maine Family Planning and Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. Doing so will help ensure patients can still access mammograms, cancer screenings, birth control, and reproductive care in their own communities, regardless of federal defunding efforts.
Protect reproductive health data privacy
Direct state agencies to limit the sharing of reproductive health data to protect patient privacy from out-of-state investigations.
Create a strategic mifepristone stockpile
In the event that FDA were suddenly to rescind approval of the abortion medication mifepristone, Maine will have already purchased and stored a multi-year supply of the drug at the state level. This physical supply, already within Maine’s borders, would remain legal for distribution under state law.
Protect Maine’s Public Schools
Donald Trump’s education policies are leaving Maine children behind—cutting support for students with disabilities and weakening the federal commitment to public schools. When Washington pulls back, it’s Maine families, teachers, and local communities who are forced to pick up the pieces. As governor, Dr. Shah will stand up for our students, protect critical funding, and make sure every child—no matter their needs or where they live—has access to the support they deserve.
Protect and expand in-state special education funding
In response to federal cuts that threaten services for students with disabilities, work with the Legislature to protect and expand Maine’s special education funding so schools have the resources they need. Too many families of children with special needs are already struggling to find services, navigate long waitlists, or pay out of pocket. Maine must step up to make sure every child gets the support they deserve and every family has the help they need.
Keep Washington politicians out of Maine classrooms
Push back against federal attempts to censor books, ban the teaching of American history—including the history of slavery—and dictate what Maine students can learn. Dr. Shah will also work with the Legislature to ensure Maine schools do not lose funding simply for following state law and providing students with a complete, accurate, and respectful education.
Defend Maine’s free school meals from federal attacks
As Trump cuts school nutrition programs and even withholds funds from states he disagrees with, we will protect Maine’s free school meal program and ensure every child continues to get the food they need to learn and grow.