The position of President of the Maine Senate was created when Maine separated from Massachusetts and achieved statehood in 1820.
The Maine Legislature had one year terms until 1880, when an amendment to the Maine Constitution took effect to provide for two year terms. Joseph A. Locke was the first Senate president to serve a two-year term, starting in 1881. [1]
As Maine has no lieutenant governor, the president of the Senate is first in line to become Governor of Maine in the event of a vacancy.
The 100 seats in the United States Senate are divided into three classes for the purpose of determining which seats will be up for election in any two-year cycle, with only one class being up for election at a time. With senators being elected to fixed terms of six years, the classes allow about a third of the seats to be up for election in any presidential or midterm election year instead of having all 100 be up for election at the same time every six years. The seats are also divided in such a way that any given state's two senators are in different classes so that each seat's term ends in different years. Class 1 and 2 consist of 33 seats each, while class 3 consists of 34 seats. Elections for class 1 seats are scheduled to take place in 2024, class 2 in 2026, and the elections for class 3 seats in 2028.
The Maine Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. It is a bicameral body composed of the lower house Maine House of Representatives and the upper house Maine Senate. The Legislature convenes at the State House in Augusta, where it has met since 1832.
The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the Senate. The Legislature meets in the New Jersey State House, in the state capital of Trenton.
The Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the Senate of Tennessee is the presiding officer of the Tennessee Senate and first in line in the succession to the office of governor of Tennessee in the event of the death, resignation, or removal from office through impeachment and conviction of the governor of Tennessee.
The Connecticut State Senate is the upper house of the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The state senate comprises 36 members, each representing a district with around 99,280 inhabitants. Senators are elected to two-year terms without term limits. The Connecticut State Senate is one of 14 state legislative upper houses whose members serve two-year terms; four-year terms are more common.
The Arizona State Senate is part of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Arizona. The Senate consists of 30 members each representing an average of 219,859 constituents. Members serve two-year terms with term limits that limit Senators to a maximum four consecutive terms before requiring a one-term respite prior to running again. Members of the Republican Party are currently the majority in the Senate. There are currently 16 women serving in the Senate after Raquel Terán was appointed, making it the first time a majority of the body was composed of female members.
Burton Melvin Cross was an American Republican businessman and politician. Cross was Maine's 61st and 63rd Governor, though his two terms were separated by just 25 hours.
The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, though the Maine Constitution allows for "an odd number of Senators, not less than 31 nor more than 35". Unlike the lower House, the Senate does not set aside nonvoting seats for Native tribes. Because it is a part-time position, members of the Maine Senate usually have outside employment as well.
The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 30 members of the state Senate, representing 30 districts across the state, each with a population of 127,700. The state Senate meets in the east wing of the Oregon State Capitol in Salem.
The Wyoming Senate is the upper house of the Wyoming State Legislature. There are 31 Senators in the Senate, representing an equal number of constituencies across Wyoming, each with a population of at least 17,000. The Senate meets at the Wyoming State Capitol in Cheyenne.
The Louisiana State Senate is the upper house of the state legislature of Louisiana. All senators serve four-year terms and are assigned to multiple committees.
In the United States, a governor serves as the chief executive and commander-in-chief in each of the fifty states and in the five permanently inhabited territories, functioning as head of state and head of government therein. As such, governors are responsible for implementing state laws and overseeing the operation of the state executive branch. As state leaders, governors advance and pursue new and revised policies and programs using a variety of tools, among them executive orders, executive budgets, and legislative proposals and vetoes. Governors carry out their management and leadership responsibilities and objectives with the support and assistance of department and agency heads, many of whom they are empowered to appoint. A majority of governors have the authority to appoint state court judges as well, in most cases from a list of names submitted by a nominations committee.
The following table indicates the party of elected officials in the U.S. state of Maine:
The governor of Maine is the head of government of the U.S. state of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the governor of Massachusetts was chief executive.
A lieutenant governor is an official in state governments of 45 out of 50 of the United States. In most cases, the lieutenant governor is the highest officer of state after the governor, standing in for that officer when they are absent from the state or temporarily incapacitated. In the event a governor dies, resigns or is removed from office, the lieutenant governor typically becomes governor.
Mark W. Lawrence is an American lawyer and Democratic politician currently serving in the Maine Senate. Lawrence represents Senate District 35, comprising the towns of Eliot, Kittery, Ogunquit, South Berwick, York and part of Berwick. Lawrence was born in Kittery and attended Bowdoin College and the University of Maine School of Law where he was elected to his first term in the Maine House of Representatives. He has served a total of three terms in the Maine House and is serving his sixth nonconsecutive term in the Maine Senate, where he served as president from 1996 to 2000. Lawrence was the 2000 Democratic United States Senate nominee, challenging incumbent Olympia Snowe, and in 2008 he unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for Maine's 1st congressional district. Lawrence pursued private law practice for 14 years before becoming the York County District Attorney from 2003 to 2010. In 2010, he returned to private practice and operates the Lawrence Law Firm out of Kittery.
John Coffin Talbot (1784–1860) was an American businessperson and politician from Maine. Talbot, a Democrat, served 6 one-year terms in the Maine Legislature, including two in the Maine House of Representatives and four in the Maine Senate. In his 4th and final Senate term, Talbot was elected Senate President.
Josiah Manchester Haynes was an American businessperson, lawyer, and politician from Augusta, Maine. Haynes was elected to the Maine Legislature five times and served as Senate President in 1879 and Speaker of the House in 1882—83. In business, he was heavily invested in shipbuilding, railroads, timber, and the commercial ice production.