Democratic leaders in Maine praised President Biden's decision on Sunday to end his re-election campaign. And a growing number of Democratic officials have endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the party's ticket.
Gov. Janet Mills was the first prominent Democrat in Maine to announce that she was backing Harris. Mills credited Biden with leading the nation through unprecedented challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and said he made "once-in-a-generation investments" in infrastructure, the economy and programs related to climate change.
"In stepping aside, the president is putting the interests of the American people first," Mills said in a statement. "He is demonstrating that the office of the presidency is not about a single person but, instead, is the manifestation of the hopes and dreams of millions of Americans across the country. I look forward to continuing to work with President Biden for the remainder of his term and to doing everything I can to elect Vice President Kamala Harris, a friend a former colleague as attorney general and a fighter for the people, as our next president."
Mills served as Maine's attorney general at the same time that Harris held the post in California.
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, who represents Maine's left-leaning 1st Congressional District, also praised Biden for his handling of the pandemic and for "rallying the world to stand up for Ukraine and democracy." On Monday morning, Pingree threw her support behind Harris, who she called "a proven leader."
"She is the most qualified person to continue the critical work protecting our freedoms, preserving our democracy, and growing our economy," Pingree said in a statement. "I pledge my full support to ensure Vice President Harris' victory in November and am eager to work with her to keep Donald Trump and J.D. Vance out of the White House."
Harris has also picked up endorsements from House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross or Portland and all four of the Democratic majority leaders and assistant majority leaders in the Maine House and Senate.
"She was my candidate then and she is MOST DEFINITELY my candidate now," House Assistant Majority Leader Kristen Cloutier of Lewiston said on Facebook. "I am so grateful to President Biden for his bold leadership and dedication to our country. And I’m excited about what this next generation of Democratic leadership can and will accomplish (and to reuse that sign!). I’m all in. President Harris 2024!"
Maine will send 32 delegates to the Democratic National Convention next month. Sixteen of those delegates had been "bound" to support Biden after he won the state's Democratic presidential primary in March. But they were "released" after Biden withdrew, allowing them to support other candidates.
The delegates were slated to meet Monday evening. One of those delegates, Bev Uhlenhake, has endorsed and predicted Monday that Democrats will quickly coalesce around Harris. Uhlenhake is also chair of the Maine Democratic Party but was speaking on her own behalf as a delegate.
"We've definitely pivoted," Uhlenhake said in an interview. "You can hear it in everyone's voices, you can hear it in their posts and you can hear it in their emails to me about how excited they are about the future and this campaign. So absolutely there has been a change and we are going to ride it right through November."
Other high-ranking Democrats have yet to announce who they want to succeed Biden as the nominee.
Congressman Jared Golden, who represents Maine's more rightward-leaning 2nd Congressional District, released only a short statement saying "President Biden’s choice to not seek the nomination for a second term as president is the right decision for the good of the country."
Golden had garnered national attention — and angered some Maine Democrats — several weeks ago by writing in an op-ed that Trump would win this November and that he was "OK with that." Golden said at the time that he would not vote for Trump but wasn't backing Biden at the time because he wanted to learn more about the president's physical and mental ability to serve another four-year term.
Maine Senate President Troy Jackson of Allagash focused on Biden's support for organized labor and "ordinary Americans and everyday Mainers" as well as his administration's efforts to decrease the price of some prescription drugs, such as insulin.
"Today, President Biden showed Americans what it means to be a true statesman by indicating that he would not run for re-election," Jackson said in a statement. "This decision to step aside at the end of his term and support the transfer of power with grace represents a stark contrast from the actions of his predecessor — someone whose exit from office culminated with a mob storming the Capitol, injuring police officers and trying to interfere with the results of free and fair elections."
Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, drew parallels between Biden withdrawing from the 2024 race to George Washington's decision not to seek third term as president. King said Biden's decision to step aside "will cement his legacy among some of the greatest statesmen in our country's history."
"And today, in one of the most challenging geopolitical moments in history, the American people are in need of a new leader who can take on those abroad who are trying to destroy freedom and democracy, while also meeting our challenges here at home and ensuring our nation lives up to its highest ideals," King said in a statement.
Not surprisingly, Maine Republicans cast Biden's presidency in an entirely different light and predicted that Harris, if elected, would merely continue the policies of the current administration.
"Joe Biden has been a terrible president for Maine," Joel Stetkis, chairman of the Maine Republican Party and a former state lawmaker from Canaan, said in a statement. "Mainers should remember that whoever the Democrats choose to run will have been a supporter of Biden's policies that have crushed the working class in our state. Please go vote in November: it's the only way to avoid having President Kamala Harris continue Biden's destruction of Maine."
Biden handily won the statewide vote over Trump in 2020 by a margin of 53% to 44%, although Trump picked up one of the state's four Electoral College votes by winning the 2nd Congressional District. With Biden struggling in the polls, especially after his disastrous debate performance, Maine Republicans have suggested that Trump could win both the 2nd District and the statewide vote this year.
