Party Divide in Maine Legislature Narrows

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Maine Is a Splintered State: Maine continues to demonstrate it’s a tale of two halves, with the more conservative north also having a penchant for splitting tickets.?

• Trump achieved victory in CD 2, a near House Republican majority has been fueled by sweeps in northern Maine, and Republicans achieved gains in the Senate.???
• However, Maine is also poised to return Democrat Congressman Jared Golden to a 4th term.??
• The divide between Republicans and Democrats in the state legislature has narrowed, with the legislature becoming more conservative and with House Republicans within 1 seat of the majority.???

State Leadership Changes Coming: Changes to the House and Senate leadership will be sweeping, including a new Senate President and Majority Leader, new Speaker of the House, and a new Senate Assistant Minority leader. Expect the caucuses to be a raucous affair with challenges up and down leadership.???

• Ryan Fecteau the former Speaker could return as Speaker, and Mattie Daughtry, the current Assistant Majority Leader, could ascend to Senate President with both leaders termed out.???
• Down ballot in the Senate will be interesting with the emergence of Former Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross now in the Senate.???
• Billy Bob Faulkingham should remain on as the House Minority Leader, and Trey Stewart as Senate Minority Leader, but Stewart will have a new Assistant Leader when he returns.???

The House Republicans will caucus this Friday with the remaining caucus later in the month.? Significant changes to committee structures with several key retirements and incumbent losses are expected in early December, and their composition will reveal the key priorities of the new leadership.???

Battles Expected over Climate/Energy and Data Privacy: The state is set to release its new five-year climate plan on December 5th, and with the Department of Environmental Protection punting regulatory authority to the legislature on EVs in 2024, climate/energy as well as lingering issues on data privacy are set to headline the fights that will emerge this session. Expect the House to be much more moderate and in line with the Governor on these and other issues.?

Collins’ Influence over U.S. Senate Appropriations: On the Federal level, the Republicans’ majority in the Senate means Susan Collins should become the Chair of the Appropriations Committee. Collins is already a key voice in appropriations, and her influence is expected to expand significantly with the new position.?