Political Pulse

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.

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.

Gov. Janet Mills ended months of speculation this week by officially entering the Democratic primary to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins next fall.

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.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine has been the focus of national attention — and scorn among Democrats — as Republicans dutifully carried out President Donald Trump’s controversial plans for tax cuts while slashing billions of dollars from Medicaid, foreign aid and public broadcasting. While Collins ultimately opposed both measures, the intense Democratic response signals the 2026 election has officially arrived in Maine.

In a final burst of activity, state lawmakers closed out the 2025 legislative session this week by passing dozens of additional bills, dealing with everything from guns and reproductive health to affordable housing.

Nearly one year after President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in the hopes of stopping certification of the 2020 election, the Maine House of Representatives debated a resolution commemorating the assault on Congress that ultimately led to the conviction of more than 1,270 rioters.