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 primary voters' risk aversion.

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.

Defeating Susan Collins is Graham Platner’s primary goal, but he and his campaign also signaled that they’re gearing up for a potential fight against power brokers in the Democratic National Committee.

The 2026 gubernatorial election is 16 months away, yet Republican hopeful Bobby Charles has already managed to break through the mostly routine campaign rollouts by the rest of the ever-growing field of candidates.