Maine has been out of reach for Republicans since then.
Once in a while, Republicans would get elected to the governor's mansion, and at one time, both US Senators were Republicans (albeit very liberal).
Now a conservative Republican serves in the Governor's mansion and represents Northern Maine in the Second District.
In that same district, Donald Trump is beating Hillary Clinton by ten points!
This is incredible.
The Maine Republican Party did not let this news sit in the newspaper, either!
The state party's executive director released this latest eblast:
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Have you seen the great news!?
A new Colby College-Boston Globe poll is showing that Maine,
once a playground for National Democrat special interest groups, is on the
verge of delivering at least 1, and maybe 3, electoral votes for Mr. Donald
Trump.
This poll was published in the left-leaning Boston Globe!
Not Breitbart, and not Rasmussen!
However, right now we need to make sure we do not take a
single thing for granted over the next 7 weeks. As we get closer to Election
Day, we need all hands on deck and your support!
The state of Maine has developed a stronger undercurrent of hard-working conservative leaders who don't take crap from liberal, elitist special interests!
Maine Governor Paul LePage has played a large part in bringing the Republican brand into greater force in this New England bastion.
The article from the Boston Globe was more promising for Republicans, especially for Donald Trump:
Maine doles out its four Electoral College votes in an unusual way,
awarding two votes to the statewide winner and another for each of its two
congressional districts. Trump’s campaign had hoped to pick off a single
electoral vote in the more conservative, vast, and rural Second District —
something that has never happened in Maine’s political history.
This "usual" process should be more common. Presidential candidates would campaign in more states, and grant more power to otherwise marginalized Democratic and Republican voters in one-party states.
In California, certain Congressional districts can tilt Republican during a general election, even if the Congressional incumbent is a Democrat. A Republican Presidential candidate could count on winning at least 14 electoral votes in the Golden State. A Democratic contender could pick up electoral votes in Texas or even Alabama with the right national campaign.
That is, if more states adopted Congressional representation for their Electoral College allocation.
So, what is happening in Maine?
But the poll shows Trump’s dominance in the Second District — he leads
Clinton by 10 points there — is boosting him statewide, as well. In the 1st
Congressional District, which includes Portland and points south, Clinton has
an 18-point lead, showing just how politically divided the state is
geographically.
The Boston Globe article tried to glance over this troubling development for the Democratic nominee.
It's still a YUGE development.
And there's more.
What’s more, politics are shifting in the state once known for electing
moderate Republicans like Margaret Chase Smith, who served as a US senator. The
state reelected its controversial and highly partisan GOP governor, Paul
LePage, in 2014.
They forgot to mention that LePage won by 37% of the vote, but has governed pretty effectively.
He won by a wider margin in 2014, as he competed against three candidates, including the retiring Congressman Mike Michaud of the Second District!
“If Paul LePage’s reelection wasn’t a wake-up call to Maine Democrats,
this poll should be,” said Mike Cuzzi, a former Obama campaign staffer and
Democratic political consultant based in Maine.
Forty percent of respondents said they had a favorable impression of
LePage in the survey, conducted a week after he openly mulled resigning
following an inflammatory, expletive-laden voice mail he left for a state
lawmaker. LePage is an ardent Trump supporter.
He was an ardent Christie supporter first, though. The article forgets to mention that.
“Democrats here in Maine have struggled to connect with the core of
Trump and LePage voters, which is generally white, rural, working-class men,”
Cuzzi said. “In more populated states, Democrats can overcompensate for that
with diversity in cities, but if you struggle with that group in Maine, you
have a real problem.”
The Democratic Party has turned into a hyper-urban elitist political faction out of touch with the pressing concerns of American citizens. In many cases, Democratic policies have targeted and benefited the wealthy and well-connected, while ignoring the well-being and best interests of working class people, not just "white" people.
The ongoing irrelevance of the progressive Democrats should hint at how much they have distanced their once loyal constituents. These are still plenty of Reagan Democrats out there, and many of them are taking one more step to become Republicans!
Governor LePage's policies also contributed to creating a state community of workers, makers, and hard-hitting taskmasters. Men and women cannot come to Maine looking for a handout, either, which has further depressed the Democratic turnout.
Most people forget that a Democratic governor named John Baldacci had served as governor before LePage, and turned Maine into a sanctuary STATE for illegal aliens!
The current governor told all the moochers "Get off of welfare and get a job!"
He was the precursor to the brazen brand of in-your-face politicking so needed in this country, too!
Bruce Poliquin's upset in the Second District during the 2014 election also signaled that New Englanders are getting tired of the destructive Democratic dominance and taking on Republican leadership, all for the better for them!
All of this bodes very well for Donald Trump, who has responded to the deep-set, deeply rooted anxieties of many Americans---not just the white ones!
I couldn't resist commenting. Very well written!
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