Steve Mistler
Chief Political Correspondent and State House Bureau ChiefJournalist Steve Mistler is Maine Public’s chief politics and government correspondent. He is based at the State House.
Steve has been a journalist for nearly two decades, specializing in the coverage of politics and state government. His work has been recognized by the Maine Press Association, Gerald Loeb and regional Murrow awards for investigative projects and accountability journalism. He was named the MPA’s Journalist of the Year in 2011 for his coverage of municipal and state government. He later received a Public Service in Radio from the Society of Professional Journalists and a writing award from the Public Radio News Directors for his retrospective of former Gov. Paul LePage.
He joined Maine Public in 2016 after a career in newspaper reporting. He and his family live in Maine.
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Maine is required by law to have balanced budget and the Trump domestic policy bill is expected to result in billions in lost federal aid for Medicaid and food assistance. It's unclear when state lawmakers might have to patch such a hole because Republicans delayed implementation of some cuts until after the 2026 midterm elections. -
The New Markets Capital Investment Program touts several splashy successes, but it's drawn scrutiny when projects fail. Gov. Janet Mills will soon decide if a bill sending it $100 million over an eight-year period is worth it. -
Collins, a key vote in advancing the proposal over the weekend, was one of three GOP holdouts on Tuesday that forced Vice President JD Vance to break a tie. -
Sen. Angus King, an independent, argued that one person should not have ability to commit the U.S. military to war. Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, said she supports Trump's ordering of airstrikes against Iran's nuclear facilities and that they were designed to protect the U.S. and its allies. -
Gov. Janet Mills has vetoed five bills enacted by the Maine Legislature and lawmakers have been unable to muster the two-thirds support needed to override her. -
State Sen. Rick Bennett announced Tuesday that he's unenrolling from the Republican party to run for governor as an independent, an entry that could shake up the 2026 contest. -
Democrats who control the legislature passed the $320 million bill along party lines. Mills says the package contains compromises and tradeoffs. -
The Maine House of Representatives, the site several bitter partisan fights this year, paused Wednesday to remember former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark. Officials have said their murders were politically motivated. -
At least one national Republican group has already donated half a million dollars to the group behind the referendum. New campaign finance filings signal that the issue will draw opposition and spending from Democratic organizations, too. -
While proposal prohibiting transgender girls from competing on girls' and women's sports teams narrowly cleared the House, it was defeated in the Senate alongside a slate of other related bills.
