Maine's Political Pulse

A look back at Tuesday's results and what they mean.

Tuesday is primary election day in Maine (again) as voters head to the polls to select party nominees for Congress, the Legislature and local offices.

While lawmakers will return to the State House next week to take up the governor’s vetoes, the 131st Legislature has already left its imprint on some of the issues and challenges confronting the state.

Republicans have described the proposal as a late-session ambush designed to catch gun rights groups and the public off guard.

Maine lawmakers are plodding toward a mid-April adjournment with a slew of contentious issues to resolve, including gun safety and a new spending plan. Meanwhile, a divided Congress continues its obsession with the November election in its quest for historically unproductive governance.

Next Tuesday, voters in Maine and more than a dozen other states will cast ballots during the single-largest primary day of the 2024 elections.By presidential primary standards, this year’s Super Tuesday contests are relatively anti-climactic because the Republican and Democratic tickets are pretty much set at this point. Absent some ground-shaking legal or political developments, the nation appears headed for a Biden-Trump rematch this November.But electors are still at stake in Maine. And for the first time this year, thanks to Maine’s switch to a “semi-open” primary, independent voters can join the proverbial party without literally having to join a party.

Bowing to pressure from former President Donald Trump, a majority of Republicans in the U.S. Senate this week helped torpedo the bipartisan immigration bill that would have restricted and overhauled the asylum process while giving the president clear authority to close the border.The failure to advance the bill after four months of negotiations ensures that immigration will remain a key campaign issue in the 2024 presidential and congressional election with possible implications for down ballot contests in state legislatures.Maine's Political Pulse was written this week by State House correspondent Kevin Miller and produced by digital news reporter Esta Pratt-Kielley. The theme music was performed and recorded by Rob Holt.

Gov. Janet Mills reset the political debate over guns in Maine on Tuesday by unveiling a suite of policy proposals that she says were shaped or inspired by conversations since October’s mass shooting in Lewiston.

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows has decided to keep former President Donald Trump off the state's Republican primary ballot. Here's why.

Chief political correspondent Steve Mistler joins Morning Edition host Irwin Gratz to discuss Tuesday's election results in Maine.

Question 3 in November proposes a dramatic overhaul of who is responsible for delivering electricity to the majority of Mainers. In this state and across the nation, it's unmatched in manner, scope or known outcomes.

Supporters say Question 1 is a necessary “safety valve” to prevent electric customers in Maine — who are already paying some of the highest rates in the country — from being saddled with massive amounts of debt. But opponents say it's just another attempt to sabotage the push toward what they contend would be more reliable, lower-cost electricity for most Maine residents.

Maine would become the second state in the nation to require automakers to make onboard repair and diagnostic information available to independent mechanics if voters approve Question 4 in November.

Question 2 aims to close a loophole in state law that currently allows companies and organizations owned by foreign governments to spend money to influence voters on state referendums. In doing so, it taps two populist sentiments about U.S. elections: first, that money plays an outsize role in determining outcomes, and second, that entities controlled by foreign governments should not be allowed to influence voters.

Here's a look at the four proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot this November — we'll tackle the four citizens initiatives separately in later editions of the Pulse.

The $50,000 donation from The Concord Fund, formerly known as the Judicial Crisis Network, appears to be the first publicly disclosed contribution to a Maine PAC from the group, which is associated with a network of nonprofits connected to Leonard Leo, the chairman of the Federalist Society.

The 2023 legislative session here in Maine finally wrapped up this week, more than a month later than originally planned.

Democrats controlling the Maine Legislature are securing key policy victories during the halting and chaotic close to the legislative session. However, they’ve also left questions about intraparty comity and whether they’ve sown the seeds for a minority Republican comeback in next year’s election.

The Maine Legislature is headed into what is supposed to be its final few days of the 2023 session. But lawmakers still have a long list of major issues that they've yet to resolve.