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County results Cohen: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Elections in Maine |
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The 1978 United States Senate election in Maine was held on November 7, 1978. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator William Hathaway ran for re-election to a second term, but was defeated by William Cohen, the Republican U.S. Representative from Maine's 2nd congressional district. This is the last time a Senator from Maine lost re-election.
No incumbent Senator has lost by such a large margin since Hathaway's 22.65-point loss, though James Abdnor in 1980, John Boozman in 2010, and Tommy Tuberville in 2020 all received larger percentages of the vote than Cohen's 56.59% against incumbent Senators.
Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972 in an upset victory against incumbent Margaret Chase Smith, Hathaway had established himself as a very liberal senator, being ranked an average of 92 percent more liberal than the Senate as a whole during his first term. [1] This put him at risk, considering the conservative nature of Maine before the 1990s. [2] Meanwhile, young former state senator Hayes Gahagan launched an independent campaign, running well to the right of Cohen. [3] Other candidates to join the race were independent John J. Jannace and perennial candidate Plato Truman. [4]
During the campaign, all candidates hit the campaign trail hard, with Hathaway receiving significant support from Jimmy Carter, Edmund Muskie, Ted Kennedy, and other national Democrats. [7] The biggest surprise, however, came from Hayes Gahagan. Shortly before election day, he held a press conference where he announced that "unknown, subversive agents" had been altering his campaign photos by implanting subliminal images of female genitalia in his hairline. [8]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
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Republican | William Cohen | 212,294 | 56.59% | +9.83% | |
Democratic | William Hathaway (incumbent) | 127,327 | 33.94% | −19.29% | |
Independent | Hayes E. Gahagan | 27,824 | 7.42% | ||
Independent | John J. Jannace | 5,553 | 1.48% | ||
Independent | Plato Truman | 2,116 | 0.56% | ||
Majority | 84,967 | 22.65% | +16.19% | ||
Turnout | 375,114 | ||||
Republican gain from Democratic | Swing |
Michael Herman Michaud is an American businessman and politician from Maine. Michaud served as the U.S. representative for Maine's 2nd congressional district from 2003 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The primarily rural district comprises nearly 80% of the state by area and includes the cities of Lewiston, Auburn, Bangor, Presque Isle, and Ellsworth. It is the largest Congressional district by area east of the Mississippi River.
William Dodd Hathaway was an American politician and lawyer from Maine. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator for Maine from 1973 to 1979, as the U.S. representative for Maine's 2nd congressional district from 1965 to 1973, and as the commissioner of the Federal Maritime Commission from 1990 to 1999.
The 1978 United States Senate elections were held on November 7, in the middle of Democratic President Jimmy Carter's term. The 33 seats of Class 2 were contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies.
The 1972 United States Senate elections were held on November 7, with the 33 seats of Class 2 contested in regular elections. They coincided with the landslide re-election of Republican President Richard Nixon. Despite Nixon's landslide victory, Democrats increased their majority by two seats. The Democrats picked up open seats in Kentucky and South Dakota, and defeated four incumbent senators: Gordon Allott of Colorado, J. Caleb Boggs of Delaware, Jack Miller of Iowa, and Margaret Chase Smith of Maine. The Republicans picked up open seats in New Mexico, North Carolina, and Oklahoma, and defeated one incumbent, William B. Spong Jr. of Virginia.
Maine's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Maine. Covering 27,326 square miles (70,770 km2), it comprises nearly 80% of the state's total land area. The district comprises most of the land area north of the Portland and Augusta metropolitan areas. It includes the cities of Lewiston, Bangor, Auburn, and Presque Isle. The district is represented by Democrat Jared Golden, who took office in 2019.
The 1996 United States Senate election in Maine was held November 5, 1996. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator William Cohen decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. To replace him, U.S. Representative Joseph E. Brennan won the Democratic primary while political consultant Susan Collins won the Republican primary. A competitive general election ensued, but Collins ultimately won out over Brennan, keeping the seat in the Republican column. With Collins' election to the Senate in 1996, Maine became the third state after California and Kansas to have two sitting female senators, and the first to have two elected female Republican senators.
The 2012 United States Senate election in Maine was held on November 6, 2012, alongside a presidential election, other elections to the United States Senate in other states, as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Despite initially declaring her candidacy and being considered the favorite, popular incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe unexpectedly decided to retire instead of running for reelection to a fourth term.
The 1972 United States Senate election in Maine was held on November 7, 1972. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Margaret Chase Smith ran for re-election to a fifth term, but was defeated by Democrat William Hathaway. As of 2024, this was the last time the Democrats won the Class 2 Senate seat from Maine.
The 2014 Maine gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014 to elect the governor of Maine. Incumbent Republican governor Paul LePage won re-election to a second term, defeating Democratic nominee Mike Michaud, the U.S. representative from Maine's 2nd congressional district, and independent Eliot Cutler, an attorney and second-place finisher from the 2010 gubernatorial election. This is currently the most recent election that Maine elected a Republican governor. Primary elections were held on June 10, 2014.
The 2014 United States Senate election in Maine took place on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins, who had served in the position since 1997, won election to a fourth term in office with 68% of the vote. The primary elections were held on June 10, 2014.
The 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014, to elect the two U.S. representatives from the state of Maine, one from each of the state's two congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including Governor of Maine and United States Senate. The primary elections were held on June 10, 2014.
The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine were held on November 8, 2016, to elect the two U.S. representatives from the state of Maine, one from each of the state's two congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. The primaries were held on June 14.
The 2018 Maine gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the governor of Maine. It occurred along with elections for the U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and other state and local elections. Incumbent Republican governor Paul LePage was term-limited and could not seek re-election to a third consecutive term; he later unsuccessfully sought a third term in 2022. This was one of eight Republican-held governorships up for election in a state carried by Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.
The 2018 United States Senate election in Maine was held on November 6, 2018, alongside a gubernatorial election, U.S. House elections, and other state and local elections. Incumbent independent Senator Angus King won re-election to a second term, defeating Democratic nominee Zak Ringelstein and Republican nominee Eric Brakey. This was one of two independent-held Senate seats up for election in a state that Hillary Clinton won in the 2016 presidential election.
The 1966 United States Senate election in Maine was held on November 8, 1966. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Margaret Chase Smith was re-elected to a fourth term over Democratic State Senator Elmer H. Violette.
Elmer Hector Violette was an American jurist and Democratic Party politician from Maine. He was a justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court from 1981 to 1986 as well as a member of the Maine Superior Court, Maine Senate, and Maine House of Representatives.
The 2020 United States Senate election in Maine was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Maine, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections. This was Maine's first election for its Class 2 seat to use its ranked choice voting system. Because the first round of the general election saw a majority the instant runoff tabulation of more than 800,000 ballots was not carried out.
The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine were held on November 6, 2018, to elect the two U.S. representatives from the state of Maine, one from each of the state's two congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other offices, including a gubernatorial election, other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections.
The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine were held on November 3, 2020, to elect the two U.S. representatives from the state of Maine, one from each of the state's two congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. The election was conducted with ranked choice voting, as per the result of a referendum passed in 2016.
The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine were held on November 8, 2022, to elect the two U.S. representatives from the state of Maine, one from each of the state's two congressional districts. The elections coincided with other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. The elections were conducted with ranked choice voting, as per the result of a referendum passed in 2016. These were the first House of Representatives elections held in Maine following the 2020 redistricting cycle.