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Boston Globe
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Maine Democrats want to beat Susan Collins. Step one? Finding a challenger.
Send questions or suggestions to the Starting Point team at . If you'd like the newsletter sent to your inbox, . TODAY'S STARTING POINT In 2020, Susan Collins looked like an endangered species. Collins, Maine's senior senator, was the last Republican member of Congress from New England. Donald Trump was in the White House. Collins, a moderate, had broken with him on major legislation. She faced a well-funded Democratic challenger. And polls suggested that after decades in office, Yet Collins ended up winning by nearly 9 points — even as Trump lost Maine to Joe Biden by a similar margin. Advertisement Many of the same dynamics still pertain ahead of Collins's expected run for a sixth term next year. Her staying power seems to have made prominent Maine Democrats wary of challenging her and Maine Republicans content with a senator who sometimes defies Trump. Today's newsletter explains Collins's strengths and potential weaknesses. The politics of fear Collins, first elected in 1996, has survived all kinds of political environments. She's won in good years for Democrats, like 2008, and in good years for Republicans, like 2014. She's won after outspending her opponent (2002) and after her opponent outspent her (2020). She's won under presidents of both parties (Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump), in midterm and presidential elections alike. That's an intimidating record. It may help explain why, even as several high-profile Maine Democrats angle to run for governor next year, no major challenger has yet announced against Collins. ( Advertisement Senator and governor are different jobs, and seeking an open seat — Governor Janet Mills, a Democrat, is term-limited — is easier. But at least one Maine Democrat who wanted to be a senator in the past — Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who lost to Collins by 37 points in 2014 — is running for governor instead. Charlie Dingman, chair of the Maine Democratic Party, argues that it's still early and that challengers will emerge. 'I'm aware of and have been talking with a number of folks in the Democratic Party in Maine who are very interested in the opportunity and are exploring it,' he said, declining to name names. 'I expect we'll have a very strong field.' The most eagerly anticipated entrant may be Mills, 77, who easily won re-election in 2022 and gained national attention when she clashed with Trump earlier this year over transgender athletes. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, has reportedly Chellie Pingree, a US representative who lost to Collins in 2002, Advertisement Strengths Even if Democrats do field a strong challenger, Collins has at least three advantages going for her this year. One is experience. Nearly 30 years in office have bred a deep connection to voters in a small state where personal touch can transcend partisanship. 'It's the most successful political machine the state of Maine has ever seen,' said Lance Dutson, a strategist who worked on Collins's past three campaigns. Another, ironically, is Maine's blue lean. In 2020, despite having voted to block Trump's repeal of the Affordable Care Act, Collins faced only token primary opposition — an acknowledgment that she may be the best Maine Republicans can get. 'Collins is somebody that votes with Republicans more than she doesn't vote with Republicans, supports the Trump administration more than she doesn't support the Trump administration,' said Nicholas Jacobs, a political scientist at Colby College in Waterville. As other GOP senators face serious threats from more Trump-aligned challengers, no similar movement has yet emerged against Collins. Collins's third advantage may be plausible deniability. She chairs the Senate appropriations committee, giving her a powerful perch to break from Trump and other Republicans over tax policy and government funding if she chooses. 'It's a chance to prove her independence,' Jacobs said. Vulnerabilities Still, Collins may yet end up with a real race on her hands. Past polls have underestimated her, but Advertisement Next year's electorate may also complicate her path. Split-ticket voters who backed a Democrat for president and Collins for Senate helped her win in 2008 and 2020. But voters who increasingly support Democrats — whiter, older, and more educated — have been more likely to turn out in recent midterms. That means Collins may face a substantially bluer electorate than in prior cycles. Her record also offers Democrats plenty to criticize. Collins voted to confirm four of the six Supreme Court justices who struck down Roe v. Wade and controversial Trump nominees like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Russell Vought, an architect of Project 2025. For now, Maine Democrats' best recruiting pitch may be that past isn't necessarily prologue. 'We are seeing such an extraordinary eagerness on the part of the president to dismantle our government wholesale and to do so in a lawless fashion,' Dingman, the state party chair, said. 'I just don't believe that the results of an election in a past cycle are going to discourage people from taking on that challenge.' 🧩 4 Across: | 🌤️ 59° POINTS OF INTEREST Mar, left, and Lee Beard are among the graffiti artists who will be part of a residency at the Lynch Family Skatepark this summer. Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff Boston and Massachusetts Karen Read trial: A police investigator faced sharp questioning about his colleague's offensive texts about Read. Clashing rights: A Roxbury judge said she'd have to remove her niqab, a religious headscarf, to testify in a case that Artists in residence: A Cambridge skatepark Tragedy: A Bentley University senior died after Trump administration Three-country tour: Trump defended his administration's plan Israel-Hamas war: After speaking with Trump, Israel's prime minister will send negotiators to ceasefire talks with Hamas. As promised, Hamas released an Israeli-American hostage. ( Drug costs: Trump signed an executive order meant to lower pharmaceutical prices. But big questions, like whether the order is legal and how it would work, remain unanswered. ( Justice delayed: Black students who say classmates called them racial slurs and others who lodged civil rights complaints with the Education Department fear Trump's cuts to the agency Come one, come some: The US welcomed 59 white South Africans as refugees. Trump, who has shut down refugee admissions from Afghanistan, Sudan, and other countries, claims the South Africans face racial discrimination. ( What's that spell? Republicans' tax bill contains a provision that would put $1,000 for newborn babies into a 'money account for growth and advancement,' or MAGA. ( The Nation and the World NBA on NBC: Michael Jordan is joining the network as a special contributor. ( Diddy trial: Witnesses began testifying in Sean Combs' federal sex-trafficking trial in New York City. ( BESIDE THE POINT By Teresa Hanafin 🤧 Pollen power: It's not bad enough that allergy season is starting about 20 days earlier than it used to. It's also lasting longer and is more intense. Advertisement 🦭 Seal the deal: The state is trying once again to redesign the Massachusetts state seal. I vote for a Norman Rockwell-style painting of a Boston terrier sitting on Plymouth Rock eating a Tollhouse cookie while a chickadee perches on its head. ( 📺 Summer TV: 'The Better Sister,' 'The Waterfront,' 'Long Story Short,' and 🍃 From beer to bud: Lots of Americans are drinking less alcohol. 'Oh, really?' said THC beverage makers. ( 💦 You(th) decide: Mayor Michelle Wu wants Boston youths to pick which one of seven projects will get $1 million from the city. Community theater? Water bubblahs everywhere? Better crosswalks? ( 📫 Miss Conduct: How to get your summer cottage guests to 💿 Kendrick kicked it: Kendrick Lamar and SZA performed at a sold-out Gillette stadium last night. 🎞️ Frenzy in France: The Cannes Film Festival begins today, with movie premieres and directorial debuts and suspense over who and what will take home awards. ( 🍞 Worldly fare: In honor of 🗺️ Gone but not forgotten: The Leventhal Map Center at the BPL is dipping into its vault Friday for a two-hour display of maps of cities, countries, and empires that no longer exist. Spooky. ( Advertisement Thanks for reading Starting Point. This newsletter was edited by ❓ Have a question for the team? Email us at ✍🏼 If someone sent you this newsletter, you can 📬 Delivered Monday through Friday. Ian Prasad Philbrick can be reached at
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Grand jury finds probable cause to charge sitting legislator with domestic violence
Domestic violence survivors and advocates protested in Sanford on Jan. 9, 2025, one day after the Maine House of Representatives approved an ethics probe into the domestic violence allegations against Rep. Lucas Lanigan. (Photo by Eesha Pendharkar/Maine Morning Star) Sanford Republican Rep. Lucas Lanigan was indicted on Wednesday after a grand jury found probable cause to charge the sitting legislator on two counts for domestic violence offenses. Lanigan, who was arraigned in York County Superior Court, pleaded not guilty to both charges, which include a Class B felony for aggravated domestic violence and a Class D misdemeanor for domestic violence charges. An indictment is not a guilty verdict or sentencing, rather it means the grand jury found probable cause to convict Lanigan on the charges the police recommended. Lanigan was arrested one week before the November election for domestic violence aggravated assault. According to a police report, a Sanford police officer alleged that Lanigan strangled his wife after she confronted him and another woman his wife believed he was having an affair with. Lanigan then won reelection by one vote after a recount. During Lanigan's first court appearance in October, his wife called the incident a 'misunderstanding' and said the case should be dropped. However, Assistant District Attorney Linda Holdsworth-Donovan said victims regularly recant or downplay their stories after the fact and that the state would still pursue charges. Lanigan, who represents the towns of Newfield, Shapleigh, and parts of Sanford and Springvale, did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication. He told the Portland Press Herald that he promised his caucus he would 'immediately resign and step down' if he is convicted, 'because someone that's convicted of that should not be serving in the House of Representatives.' The Maine Democratic Party called for Lanigan's resignation following the indictment, reiterating earlier calls from the party and Democratic legislators. 'There is no place for domestic violence in our society,' Maine Democratic Party Vice Chair Imke Schessler-Jandreau said in a statement, 'and I call on Republican leaders to join the widespread calls for Mr. Lanigan's immediate resignation.' Senate President Mattie Daughtry (D-Brunswick) and Speaker of the House Ryan Fecteau (D-Biddeford) did not respond to requests for comment on the sitting legislator's indictment by the time of publication. Fecteau stripped Lanigan of his assignment to the Labor Committee in December. In January, Maine House members voted 74-69 to direct the House Ethics Committee to investigate the allegations against Lanigan to determine if he had violated the code of ethics. A report is due a month after the committee convenes. One day after that vote, Finding Our Voices, a domestic violence survivor network, held a protest against Lanigan's reelection. 'Thank you to the York County DA for continuing to pursue criminal charges against Lucas Lanigan,' Patrisha McLean, CEO and founder of Finding Our Voices, wrote in a statement to Maine Morning Star following the indictment. 'And thank you to every individual working to end Lanigan's law making abilities: Maine needs stronger laws against domestic violence stranglers and not lawmakers who stand indicted for domestic violence strangling.'
Fox News
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Dem governor fundraises off dust-up with Trump over trans sports in Maine: 'I told him we'd see him in court'
Gov. Janet Mills of Maine is attempting to capitalize on her moment in the national spotlight after she got into a public dust-up with President Donald Trump last week over her state's defiance of his executive order demanding biological males who identify as transgender stay out of women's sports. The pair got into a verbal skirmish on Friday at the White House after Trump said the night prior that Maine would not receive any federal funding until it started taking action to prevent transgender women from competing on women's sports teams. "We're going to follow the law, sir. We'll see you in court," Mills said after Trump asked if she would comply with his order. "Enjoy your life after governor, because I don't think you'll be an elected official afterward," Trump shot back. A Maine state representative confirmed to Fox News Digital that following the verbal skirmish on Friday, Mills began sending out mass fundraising texts to Maine residents that cited her altercation with Trump, which played out on national TV. "On Friday at a bipartisan meeting of governors, Donald Trump threatened to deny Maine school children federal funding unless we fall in line with his personal demands," Mills' text campaign said. "He even stated that he was 'the law,' never mind Congress or the states. I told him we'd see him in court." Mills went on to say that while Trump campaigned on lowering prices for everyday Americans, he is now using his new power to "punish his enemies." "I want to make one thing clear: Maine will not be intimidated by the president's threats," the campaign said. "The work to push back against Trump and his agenda begins at the state level. Can you donate $10 to the Maine Democratic Party to make sure they have the resources to fight for our state?" The same week Trump threatened to withhold funding from Maine for not complying with his executive order on women's sports, a transgender woman who competed as a man until June last year won first place in the women's pole vault at Maine's Class B state indoor championship. Maine's primary governing body for high school athletics, the Maine Principal's Association, confirmed that it did not intend to follow Trump's executive order after it came out. Rather, the association said they would defer to state law that makes it illegal to determine someone's athletic eligibility on the basis of their gender identity. Sarah Perry, a civil rights attorney who has extensive experience litigating Title IX issues, said that in addition to Trump's executive order, Maine is also flouting directives from the Department of Education and previously established precedent from a slew of cases that challenged former President Joe Biden's Title IX regulations allowing athletic eligibility to be determined by one's preferred gender identity. "Within six weeks [after Biden's Title IX ruling] we had 11 federal lawsuits brought by 26 states, in addition to a handful of others – the Biden administration has lost every time," Perry pointed out. Perry added that besides the obvious risk of losing funding, these states also open themselves up to federal Title IX investigations, something she said could potentially force them to comply with Trump's demands. Fox News Digital attempted to reach out to the governor's office for comment but did not hear back.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democrat Sean Faircloth wins special election for Maine House District 24
Former Bangor Mayor Sean Faircloth won the Feb. 25 special election for Maine House District 24. (Photo via Maine Democratic Party) Sean Faircloth won an overwhelming victory in Tuesday's special election to fill the seat left vacant by State Treasurer Joe Perry, bolstering legislative Democrats' slim majority in the Maine House of Representatives. The former Bangor mayor defeated Republican Carolyn Fish, who serves on the Bangor City Council, 71.7% to 28.3% with more than 95% of votes counted, according to Decision Desk HQ. In a statement after the vote, Maine Democratic Party Chair Charlie Dingman congratulated Faircloth, saying his 'deep roots in the community and his commitment to the values that strengthen Maine—economic fairness, job growth, and support for working families—will serve his constituents well.' 'This victory is a clear demonstration that voters in the district enthusiastically support Democratic Party values and policies that give all Mainers a fair shake,' Dingman said. The district, which includes Veazie and parts of Bangor, Brewer and Orono, leans Democratic. Faircloth had been selected by the national Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, an arm of the national party that aims to get Democrats elected to state legislators, as one of the organization's 'spotlight candidates.' The national organization celebrated Faircloth's win. 'Across the country, Democrats continue to focus on the issues most important to working families, and that's why they continue to dominate in special elections,' DLCC president Heather Williams said in a statement after the vote. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Will Mills' confrontation with Trump be a prologue for a US Senate campaign?
Feb. 24—Gov. Janet Mills' tense exchange with President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday is fueling questions about whether she will run for the U.S. Senate or another office when her term expires next year. More than 500 supporters, including prominent Maine authors such as Stephen King and Richard Ford, signed a letter thanking Mills for her stand and pledging to back her if she seeks office again. And the Maine Democratic Party blasted out a fundraising appeal highlighting the dust-up between Mills and Trump. The subject line of the email was, "See you in court." But opponents of Mills and critics of Maine's policy allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls' high school sports are also energized. They're hoping that last week's faceoff is a sign that the Trump administration is going to bring about changes that Republicans are calling for. The incident comes as a new poll released by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center on Monday found growing discontent with Mills' performance as governor, with 49% of people polled disapproving of Mills' handling of her job and 48% saying they approve. The survey was conducted between Feb. 13 and 17, before the tense public exchange between Mills and Trump on Friday that made national headlines, and had a margin of error of 3.4%. It's the highest disapproval rating the governor has seen since she took office in 2019, according to the researchers who conducted the poll. More than half of people who disapproved of Mills' handling of her job cited the state budget and finances as the reason for their disapproval. Fifty-five percent cited that issue as their top concern, followed by 5% citing housing and 5% citing immigration. Those who approved of Mills — who is halfway through her second and final term as governor — cited abortion rights and her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by her handling of the budget and finances, as their reasons for supporting her. Three percent of respondents said they neither approve nor disapprove or were unsure how they felt about Mills' performance. WILL SHE RUN FOR SENATE? The exchange between Mills and Trump wasn't surprising for those who know Mills, though it did raise her profile nationally, said Mark Brewer, professor and chair of the political science department at the University of Maine in Orono, on Monday. He said it's likely to reinforce how people in Maine were already feeling about Mills — those who support her will applaud that she stood up to Trump while those who disapprove of her will appreciate Trump calling her out. "We know, at least in Maine, that Janet Mills is not a shrinking violet," Brewer said. "She is not afraid of conflict and we know that from her time serving as attorney general under Gov. Paul LePage, and also her own time serving as governor." Brewer said he doesn't believe the exchange with Trump is likely to change how Mills weighs a future run for political office, such as a challenge to Republican Sen. Susan Collins in 2026. Mills is prevented from running for governor again because of term limits. But Brewer said last week's confrontation could help Mills with national fundraising efforts, should she choose to run for another office. "It gives her a hook if her and her team want to go out and raise money from a national donor base rather than a Maine donor base," he said. Mills told the Press Herald in November that her focus currently is on her last two years in office, but she didn't rule out a 2026 Senate run. Her office did not respond Monday to questions about the governor's future plans. James Melcher, political science professor at the University of Maine Farmington, said the confrontation with Trump — especially his prediction that Mills would never again hold elected office — could nudge her toward challenging Collins for her U.S. Senate seat. Trump concluded the exchange with Mills by saying, "Enjoy your life after governor, because I don't think you'll be in elected politics." Melcher drew a parallel to when former President Barack Obama mocked Trump to his face at the White House Correspondents Dinner in 2011, when Trump was raising doubts about Obama's birth certificate. "Some people think that was a motivator for (Trump's presidential campaign)," Melcher said. "Well, I could see completely where this could be a motivator for Janet Mills. "It certainly isn't the only factor she'd consider," Melcher said. "You have to think that, with somebody who is as competitive as she is and as willing to clap back at people, I think that's entirely possible it might nudge her in that direction." Mills is 77 years old, while Collins is 72. But Melcher noted that Angus King, an independent, was reelected to the U.S. Senate last fall at 80 years old. SUPPORTERS ENERGIZED, BUT SO ARE CRITICS The exchange with Trump has energized some of Mills' supporters. Debra Spark, a novelist and Colby College professor, said Monday she has collected more than 500 signatures on a letter of support for the governor. Among those who signed the letter are several notable Maine authors, including Stephen King, Monica Wood, Richard Ford and Richard Russo. "Janet Mills, we will be supporting you if you run for elected office again, and greatly appreciate you speaking frankly when others have been cowed into silence," reads the letter, which Spark said she has emailed to the governor's office. "Who knows what her future is or what she wants to do," Spark said. "I want her to know that ... you did the right thing and that everyone I know, and tons of people I don't know, are so proud of her." But critics of Mills and Maine's policy allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls' sports are also energized. More than 5,200 people have signed a petition asking the Maine Principals' Association, which oversees high school sports, to change the policy. The petition appears to have been organized by a group called Maine Girl Dads, which offers a way for people to sign it online and has promoted it on Facebook. The group did not respond to a Facebook message Monday asking to discuss the petition and Mills' response to Trump. Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, whose critical social media posts helped thrust Maine's policy on transgender athletes into the national spotlight and prompt Trump's threat to cut off funding, posted on Facebook Monday that she has seen an overwhelming response from people who don't agree with Maine's current policy, or with Mills. "Governor Mills just had her first real challenge in years," Libby wrote. "In a public clash with President Trump this past week, she told him, 'See you in court.' But this time, she may have met her match," Libby wrote. "While she has steamrolled her way through Maine politics with little resistance, she now faces a formidable opponent who is willing to fight back." Staff writers Randy Billings and Eric Russell contributed to this report. Copy the Story Link
