Maine's Political Pulse

The first of four debates in the Maine U.S. Senate race is in the books. Some may have been tempted to prewrite how it would unfold. And who could blame them?

Maine's 2nd Congressional District contest pits former Republican Gov. Paul LePage against former Secretary of State Matt Dunlap. They have a history of butting heads on voting rights, but they’ve never faced one another in an election.

Maine's high-profile U.S. Senate contest has produced more national and international headlines than any election in this state in recent memory. Most of that coverage focused on the turmoil on the Democratic side of the race. But this week, the harsh media spotlight turned on Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

A new report from the news site ProPublica investigates a former defense contractor’s allegations that he won millions in federal contracts by bankrolling the campaigns of powerful politicians, including U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine.

Dark money. If you follow politics, you’ve heard of it. It’s anonymous cash that’s flowing into the U.S. political system, particularly during congressional and presidential elections. And it’s increasing in prevalence as both political parties work to keep their financiers secret.

It seems strange to remind everyone about arguably the most consequential contest this fall, but the U.S. Senate race has been a black hole for attention. Nothing escapes.

This week, we focus on the Maine U.S. Senate race. Of course. The contest has dominated the political scene for more than a year.

Troy Jackson has long pushed for the rights of the working class, but will now face heightened scrutiny from the national press and the Republican Party on his record and conduct in the Maine Legislature.

The field of 12 includes several seasoned politicians fresh off primary campaigns for governor or Congress but also about a half-dozen lesser-known Mainers who are hoping to take on Republican Sen. Susan Collins this November.

While Republican turnout was strong compared to most years, it fell well short of the Democrats’ get-out-the-vote effort, suggesting the GOP may have to overcome a marked enthusiasm gap headed into the fall.

While public polling in the contest has been scarce, Bobby Charles has drawn the most scrutiny from his rivals.

With the primary elections just a month away, the five Democrats running for Maine governor are each working to distinguish themselves in a race that’s been both issue-oriented and remarkably civil, at least so far.

This week, Mills, who's been trailing Platner in publicly available polling, launched an attack ad that leans heavily on one of her strengths to try to expose a potential weakness in her opponent’s resilient candidacy: women voters.

The fight for the House District 94 seat in Lewiston is a preview of — or perhaps an early skirmish in — this fall’s larger battle between the parties for state houses in Maine and across the country.

The prospects of ramped-up federal immigration enforcement in Maine’s two largest cities elicited strong responses from state and local elected leaders that — not surprisingly — fell largely along partisan lines. Plus the 2026 money race and Platner gets personal.

The past year delivered a lot of big surprises and Rep. Jared Golden's sudden decision to abandon his reelection bid was among them. Maine Public chief politics correspondent Steve Mistler and fellow politics correspondent Kevin Miller recently sat down with Rep. Jared Golden for a lengthy conversation about the factors that led to his decision. During the conversation, he spoke about the warring...

AdImpact, an organization tracking political ads, estimates the Maine Senate contest could help draw more than $300 million in spending on congressional races in the state next year. That’s nearly a third more than the record-smashing amount spent in 2020 when Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins secured her fifth term.

The longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history is over. But with little to show for it, the mostly Democratic politicians who ended the standoff now face intense backlash.

The results from Tuesday’s referendum election highlighted new challenges for conservative activists hoping to use Maine’s citizens’ initiative process to implement long-sought changes to election law, while also challenging the supremacy gun rights groups have historically had over firearms laws.

On Tuesday, Maine voters will settle long-running policy debates over voter ID and guns during an off-year election that has been overshadowed by events in DC and primary contests that won't be decided until next year.

For nearly two months, Graham Platner’s bid for the U.S. Senate was marked by momentum and bravado as the political newcomer drew big crowds to his town halls and he channeled Democratic voters’ hopes for a newer, brasher kind of candidate. During an interview in late September, he said, “I’ll just say, it’s been very surreal.” Reality has arrived over the past week. Now comes a test of Democratic...

State House correspondent Kevin Miller spoke with political science professor Jim Melcher from the University of Maine-Farmington about Gov. Janet Mills' bid for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins next fall.

Proponents of Question 2 argue that the existing law — often referred to as Maine’s yellow flag law — is a failed experiment that was not used to stop a gunman in Lewiston from killing 18 people and injuring and traumatizing countless others in 2023 despite warnings about his deteriorating mental health.

The competing narratives about Question 1’s true objectives and potential impacts are perhaps best epitomized by the names of the groups leading the fight on either side: Voter ID for ME and the Save Maine Absentee Voting Coalition.

There’s a bonafide primary contest among Democrats in the Maine race for the U.S. Senate. And one of the leading contestants, Gov. Janet Mills, isn't even an official candidate yet.