There was once a saying, “As Maine goes, so goes the nation.” That implied that if Maine voted Republican during their September governor’s race, the President would be a Republican, or vice versa.
It all started when Maine first became a state in 1820. From 1820 to 1932, the people of Maine correctly predicted 22 of the 29 elections. Most notably, the 1840 election of the Whig Party candidate for Governor Edward Kent. Two months later, William Henry Harrison, the Whig Party candidate, was elected President of the United States (POTUS).
Also, the margin of victory for a political party in Maine in September typically indicated how the national election would turn out in November.
There might still be some truth in that, as Maine is one of the first states to go with “Ranked Choice Voting” (RCV), which will decide who will return to the U.S. House of Representatives, D-Golden (D) or Poliquin (R).
Although we’ve never had a Mainer sit in the Oval Office as the POTUS, we have had a few candidates for the office, one Mainer in the VP seat, and a few in the President’s cabinet.
Let’s explore some of Maine’s influential and beloved politicians.
Governor William King
The first on the list has to be Maine’s champion for independence from Massachusetts. Born in Scarborough, William King petitioned for Maine’s separation from Massachusetts.
In 1820, Maine was granted statehood. The shipping magnate from Bath would be Maine’s first governor.
James Blaine—Secretary of State
The Speaker of the U. S. House of Representatives, James Blaine, was born in Pennsylvania but moved to Maine. He would serve as Secretary of State under Presidents Harrison and Garfield. In 1884, he ran for POTUS as a Republican and narrowly lost to Grover Cleveland.
The Governor’s Mansion in Augusta is named the Blaine House.
General Joshua Chamberlain
Another beloved personality and politician from Maine was the Civil War General and four-term Governor, Joshua Chamberlain.
Every military leader is made to read the story of the “Defense of the Little Round Top” at the Battle of Gettysburg. Then, Union Army Colonel Joshua Chamberlain, in charge of the 20th Maine Regiment, led a bayonet charge against heavy opposition after they ran out of ammunition on Little Round Top, which many point to as the turning point in the war.
The Chamberlain House.Wikimedia Commons.
Chamberlain would be promoted to General, awarded the Medal of Honor (MoH), returned to a hero’s welcome in Maine, and bought the home once occupied by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, one of Maine’s most beloved poets. That home on Potter Street is now the Pejepscot Historical Museum.
Born in Hampden, Dorthea Dix served as the Union Army’s Supervisor of Nurses. She later campaigned for improved conditions in prisons and mental hospitals across the USA.
Chief Justice Melville W. Fuller
He was born in Augusta and became Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Vice President Hannibal Hamlin
Born in Paris, Maine, Hamlin served multiple terms in the U.S. House and became Maine’s only Vice President under Abraham Lincoln in 1860, then served two terms in the U.S. Senate.
Margaret Chase Smith
One of the most well-known Maine women politicians, besides Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, was their predecessor in the Senate, Margaret Chase Smith from Skowhegan.
Her “Declaration of Conscience” speech addressing President Truman on the Senate floor in 1950 brought her national recognition.
Whether Republican or Democrat, everyone in Maine loved the Republican Senator. She was one of the first women that became a serious contender for the presidential nomination in 1964.
Too bad the GOP didn’t follow through; she likely would have fared better than Goldwater against JFK’s successor, Lyndon Johnson.
Nelson A. Rockefeller
Born in Bar Harbor, he was Gerald Ford’s Vice President from 1974 to 1977.
Many do not consider the Rockefellers or the Bushes as Mainers, they’re mere flatlanders who had summer homes in Maine, but unlike the other Rockefellers, Nelson was born here.
Secretary of State Edmund S. Muskie
Senator Muskie was Hubert H. Humphrey’s Vice Presidential running mate in ’68, though he lost to Richard M. Nixon. However, Muskie would be the frontrunner for the Democratic Party’s nomination for POTUS early in 1972.
That all came tumbling down when William Loeb, a Manchester Union Leader newspaper owner, reported that Muskie laughed about the use of the term “Canuck” in reference to Franco-Americans in a letter.
He reportedly was outraged and supposedly “cried” in public while denying the incident in front of the Union Leader. Whether he actually cried is debatable, as it was cold and snowing that day.
It turned out that the letter was sent by the Committee to Re-Elect President Nixon. Later that year, the committee also orchestrated the break-in of the Democratic National HQ at Watergate.
He served as Secretary of State for Jimmy Carter from May 8, 1980, until January 18, 1981.
George Mitchell—Senate Majority Leader
Born in Waterville and a Bowdoin College alumni, George Mitchell served the remaining two years of Edmund Muskie’s Senate term when he was appointed Secretary of State.
In 1988, he was elected by his peers as the Senate Majority Leader. Although he has served in many political posts, he is probably best known as the steroid-use investigator for Major League Baseball (MLB).
Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen
Republican William S. Cohen ran for a seat in the U.S. House in 1972. He walked the entire length of the State from Kittery to Presque Isle and won the seat handily.
As a freshman legislator, he advocated for the impeachment of Nixon, also a Republican. Throughout his terms in the House and Senate, he was known as a true “bipartisan,” and served as the Secretary of Defense for the Democrat Bill Clinton.
Why William Cohen never ran for POTUS is a mystery to many.
Senator Olympia Snowe
One of the most-loved politicians from either party in Maine’s history, after Margaret Chase Smith, if you had to rank them. Olympia Snowe of Augusta served in the U. S. House from ‘78 to ’94 when she became Senator.
Known as a consummate bipartisan, she would co-chair the Senate’s Common Ground Coalition to promote cooperation and communications between the parties.
Senator Susan Collins
Susan Collins is a Republican U.S. Senator from Presque Isle. She was the only Republican U.S. Senator to vote against Amy Coney Barrett saying, “When the Senate considers nominees to the United States Supreme Court, it is particularly important that we act fairly and consistently, using the same set of rules, no matter which political party is in power.”
At least with that vote, she furthered the Maine reputation of people and policy of partisanship.
Through the years, there have been many influential and beloved politicians from Maine in both parties and from both genders. Perhaps we will soon have a seat in the Oval Office.
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About the Author.Photo by Jean Springs from Pexels.
Stephen Dalton is a native of Old Town, ME, a retired US Army First Sergeant with a degree in journalism from the University of Maryland, and a Certified US English Chicago Manual of Style Editor. He is a Top Writer in Travel, Food, Fiction, Transportation, VR, NFL, Design, Creativity, Short Story, and a NewsBreak Community Voice Pro.
Maine is yet another corrupt state with democrats puttingcthir political interests before the citizens which violates the Constitutional oath of office they take.
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