Olympia Jean Snowe is an American businesswoman and politician who was a United States Senator from Maine from 1995 to 2013. Snowe, a member of the Republican Party, became known for her ability to influence the outcome of close votes, including whether to end filibusters. In 2006, she was named one of America's Best Senators by Time magazine. Throughout her Senate career, she was considered one of the most moderate members of the chamber.
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.
Chellie MariePingree is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Maine's 1st congressional district since 2009. Her district includes most of the southern part of the state, centered around the Portland area.
The 2006 United States Senate election in Maine was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican Olympia Snowe won re-election to a third term. As of 2024, this was the last time Republicans won the Class 1 U.S. Senate seat in Maine.
Charles E. Summers Jr. is an American politician, businessman, and Iraq War veteran. A Republican from the state of Maine, he served as Acting Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs in the first Trump Administration.
Michael F. Brennan is an American politician who formerly served as the 87th Mayor of Portland, Maine. Brennan, a Democrat, served as State Senator from 2002 to 2006 and Senate Majority Leader and a 2008 Democratic candidate for Maine's 1st congressional district. On May 15, 2011 Brennan announced his candidacy in the Portland, Maine mayoral election. On November 9, Brennan won the 15-candidate contest and became the first directly-elected mayor of Portland since 1923.
The 2012 United States Senate elections were held on November 6, 2012, with 33 of the 100 seats in the Senate, all Class 1 seats, being contested in regular elections whose winners would serve 6-year terms beginning January 3, 2013, with the 113th Congress. Democrats had 21 seats up for election, plus 1 Independent, and 1 Independent Democrat, while the Republicans only had 10 seats up for election. The presidential election, elections to the House of Representatives, elections for governors in 14 states and territories, and many state and local elections were also held on the same day.
The Maine Republican Party is an affiliate of the United States Republican Party in Maine. It was founded in Strong, Maine, on August 7, 1854. The party currently does not control the governor's office or either chamber of the Maine Legislature, nor either of Maine's two U.S. House. The only federal elected office that the party controls is one of Maine's two U.S. Senate seats, currently held by Susan Collins.
Matthew Dunlap is an American politician from Maine who has served as the Maine State Auditor since November, 2022, and previously from January to October, 2021. A Democrat, Dunlap served as Secretary of State of Maine from January 7, 2013, to January 4, 2021, and previously served in that same post from 2005 to 2011. In 2012, he sought to become his party's nominee to replace retiring Olympia Snowe but lost in the primary to State Senator Cynthia Dill.
Lawrence Steven Bliss is an American educator and former politician from the state of Maine. A Democrat, he served in the Maine House of Representatives (2000–2008) and the Maine Senate (2008–2011). He resigned as a senator on April 15, 2011 after accepting a position as an administrator at California State University, East Bay, and leaving the state of Maine.
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.
Kevin L. Raye is an American politician. Raye is a member of the Republican Party and served as a member of the Maine Senate, representing the 29th district in northeastern Washington County from December 2004 to December 2012. From December 2010 to December 2012, Raye served as President of the Maine Senate, and as such, was next in line to the governorship of Maine.
The 1994 United States Senate election in Maine was held November 8, 1994. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator and Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell decided to retire, instead of seeking a third term. Congressman Tom Andrews won the Democratic primary unopposed, while Congresswoman Olympia Snowe won the Republican primary unopposed.
The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, 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 a quadrennial presidential election and an election to the U.S. Senate. Democrats would not win both of Maine's congressional districts again until 2018.
Rebecca J. Millett is an American politician from Maine. Millett is a Democratic State Representative from Maine's House District 123 representing Cape Elizabeth and part of South Portland. Prior to redistricting, Millet served as State Representative of Maine's House District 30.
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 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.
Eliot Raphael Cutler is an American former lawyer, political candidate, and sex offender. He was twice an Independent candidate in Maine's 2010 and 2014 gubernatorial races. In 2010, he placed second in a multi-way race, receiving 208,270 votes, equaling 35.9%, narrowly losing to Republican Paul LePage. In 2014 he garnered only 8.4%, placing third behind both the Democratic candidate as well as LePage, who was re-elected with 48.2% of the vote. Cutler had previously served in the Carter Administration as part of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. In May 2023, Cutler pled guilty to four counts of possessing child pornography, after being arrested in March 2022.
Anne Carney is an American Democratic politician and attorney from Maine. She currently serves in the Maine Senate representing District 29, which consists of Cape Elizabeth, South Portland, and part of Scarborough. Carney was born in Baltimore, Maryland and attended Haverford College where she received a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.). She completed a Master of Theological Studies (M.T.S) from Harvard University in 1987 and moved to Maine in 1988. Carney completed a Juris Doctor at the University of Maine School of Law in 1990 and practiced employment, civil rights and municipal law for 16 years. She was a pro bono In-House Volunteer Attorney at Pine Tree Legal Assistance for eight years before running for Maine House of Representatives District 30 in 2018. In 2020, Carney was elected to her first term in the Maine Senate.
The 2022 Maine State Senate election was held on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, with the primary election using instant-runoff voting being held on June 14, 2022, to elect the 131st Maine Senate. Voters in all 35 districts of the Maine Senate elected their state senators. These elections coincided with those for governor, U.S. House and the Maine House of Representatives. Democrats retained their 23–12 advantage in the chamber.
