Politics
Maine Politics
Mills vs LePage was most expensive governor’s race in Maine
More than $28.5 million was spent by candidates, party committees and outside groups to influence the race, according to the reports. That included just about $8.3 million spent by the candidates.…
Maine lawmakers reach deal on heating aid package after long hearing
After Democrats agreed to a key demand for a public hearing, the top Republican in the Maine Senate voted to advance a heating aid package, paving the way for passage when the Legislature convenes early next month.…
Maine Democratic Party chair won’t run again after big 2022 election wins
Rep. Drew Gattine, D-Westbrook, took the party reins after being termed out of his Maine House seat. Now that he’s been elected to the House again, he is forgoing a bid for a new term as party chair to focus on his legislative duties.…
Maine Sen. Susan Collins, lawmakers unloading FTX founder’s contributions
Lawmakers who accepted piles of cash from Samuel Bankman-Fried, including Sen. Susan Collins, now can’t move fast enough to offload their contributions from the disgraced crypto mogul to anywhere else but their own campaign coffers.…
Top Maine Democrat signals he’ll meet key GOP demand to break heating aid impasse
Senate President Troy Jackson said that his party wants to hold a hearing on a stalled heating aid bill in a development that could secure support from Senate Republicans who voted down a $473 million package last week.…
Dropping middle-class relief checks may not solve Maine’s heating aid impasse
Maine state senators from different parties proposed reining in relief payments under a stalled heating aid bill, but it was panned by top Democrats for……
This may be Maine lawmakers’ best path to a heating fuel relief deal
In the week since Maine Senate Republicans voted down a $473 million heating aid bill led by Gov. Janet Mills, there has been little positive movement on the issue.…
Maine lawmakers want Janet Mills to govern like a centrist in her 2nd term
Even as disagreements grow across the aisle in Augusta, many Legislators seem united on one front: Wanting Gov. Mills to take a middle road in a politically and geographically diverse state.…
Maine heating aid bill won’t pass before January without Senate Republicans’ support
Mills placed blame for the heating aid bill failure squarely on Senate Republicans. She called on them to reconsider their votes against the package, which would deliver $450 relief checks to most Mainers and heating assistance to low-income households & money for emergency housing.…
State panel levies $10,680 in fines against group that backed Democratic candidates
The Maine Ethics Commission voted Wednesday to fine a group that supported Democratic state legislative candidates nearly $11,000 for failing to disclose its top donors and for filing a late report.…
Maine GOP: Not Our Fault We Lost Big Races
The Maine Republican Party is not to blame for Maine Republicans losing early and often on Election Day, according to Maine GOP Chair Demi Kouzounas and GOP Executive Director Jason Savage.…
$86K in Unspent GOP PAC Money Raises Questions for Maine Republicans
Question swirl among Maine Republicans following the transfer of over $86k from helping elect Republicans to the House of Representatives to the personal PAC of a former House Minority Leader.…
Top FTX Executive Nishad Singh Gave Maine Democrats $100,000
Nishad Singh, a member of Bankman-Fried’s core inner circle, gave Maine Dems $100k in August 2022 — $90k of which was transferred to the Maine Democratic State Committee…
Angus King readies 2024 campaign that would make him Maine’s oldest senator
U.S. Sen. Angus King looks ready to run for a third term that would make him Maine’s oldest-ever senator.…
Proposal to ban political spending by foreign governments heads to statewide referendum
Supporters of a proposal to bar foreign governments from contributing money to Maine referendum campaigns has gathered enough signatures to get a spot on the November 2023 ballot, the Maine Secretary of State’s Office said Thursday.…
Maine Delegation and Governor Mills Respond to Suspension of Lobster Fishery Certification by Marine Stewardship Council
“Activists with an axe to grind have weaponized the court system and the Endangered Species Act,” say the Maine Congressional Delegation and Governor Mills in a statement…
Senators Collins, King Announce Nearly $182 Million Contract Awarded to Bath Iron Works
This funding is a cost-plus-award-fee modification to a previously awarded contract for planning yard services. The work will be performed in Bath and is expected to be completed by……
Maine Delegation Blasts Inconsistencies of NOAA’s Vessel Strike Rule that Treats Lobster Industry Unequally
“this rule imposes different requirements on vessel traffic than it does commercial fisheries,” the Maine Delegation wrote. “Through this proposed rule, it is clear that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is holding Maine’s lobster industry to a much more stringent standard than other sectors……
Mainstream Outlets Mute on Mills’ Attempts to Violate First Amendment
On October 6, 2021, The Maine Wire learned that the Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) had decided to kick its journalist, Katherine Revello, out of its weekly COVID-19 press briefings. It also removed journalists who work for the Maine Beacon, a website operated by the Maine People’s Alliance.…
Letter Reveals Mills Sought White List for Maine Media in Bid to Block Critical Coverage
Gov. Janet Mills sought the creation of a novel credentialing system for journalists last October in a bid to exclude certain media outlets from covering official state briefings and press conferences.…