Maine's Political Pulse

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 factions within the Democratic Party; how some Democrats refuse to recognize the electoral realities of the 2nd Congressional District that he represents; and yes, about that infamous column he wrote before the 2024 election that made so many Democrats angry. He also had a few things to say about why he drew a primary challenger this year from former Secretary of State Matt Dunlap.

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 primary voters' risk aversion.