The Maine Monitor

This story was produced as part of a partnership with NOTUSand the nonprofit, nonpartisan Allbritton Journalism Institute. Graham Platner raised the possibility of dropping his Senate bid in Maine after Politico on Monday reported allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2021. Platner denied the allegations, which are the latest in a string of controversies facing the Democratic candidate in one of the country’s most competitive Senate races.

Daniel O’Connor is a Report for America corps member who covers rural government as part of the partnership between The Maine Monitor and the Bangor Daily News, with additional support from BDN and Monitor readers. Gov. Janet Mills’ office worked closely with the developer behind a stalled Jay data center project who solicited local letters of support that would give her “cover” to veto a statewide data center ban, according to emails obtained by the Bangor Daily News.

Monitor Local is a reporting initiative to meet the local information needs of people in towns across western and downeast Maine with public service reporting on town council meetings, school budget debates, zoning conversations, tax deliberations and more. It functions alongside The Maine Monitor's investigative and in-depth reporting to serve the people of Maine.

In 2020, in one of the most expensive U.S. Senate races in Maine’s history, every published election poll showed Democrat Sara Gideon, the former speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, beating incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins. Gideon’s lead appeared consistent — until Election Day, when she lost to Collins by nine points. This was not the only race where the polls have been off the mark in recent years.

Dozens of polls were released in the lead up to Maine’s June primary election, and more are starting to come out as races heat up ahead of the general election in November, each one attempting to measure the beliefs of voters across the state. Polls have faced growing criticism in recent years, and their results can sometimes be misunderstood. It’s worth taking a closer look at how they work, how they are conducted in Maine and what they can tell us about voters’ priorities.

In addition to the thousands of Mainers who showed up to vote in the primary election last month, 125 volunteers appeared at polling stations across the state for another purpose: collecting signatures to get a question about universal health care on the ballot next year. Supporters of the question are hoping to encourage state lawmakers to establish publicly funded health care coverage at a time when rising health care costs and insurance rates are putting a strain on many Maine families.

Monitor Local is a reporting initiative to meet the local information needs of people in towns across western and downeast Maine with public service reporting on town council meetings, school budget debates, zoning conversations, tax deliberations and more. It functions alongside The Maine Monitor's investigative and in-depth reporting to serve the people of Maine.

Monitor Local is a reporting initiative to meet the local information needs of people in towns across western and downeast Maine with public service reporting on town council meetings, school budget debates, zoning conversations, tax deliberations and more. It functions alongside The Maine Monitor's investigative and in-depth reporting to serve the people of Maine.

Monitor Local is a reporting initiative to meet the local information needs of people in towns across western and downeast Maine with public service reporting on town council meetings, school budget debates, zoning conversations, tax deliberations and more. It functions alongside The Maine Monitor's investigative and in-depth reporting to serve the people of Maine.

Monitor Local is a reporting initiative to meet the local information needs of people in towns across western and downeast Maine with public service reporting on town council meetings, school budget debates, zoning conversations, tax deliberations and more. It functions alongside The Maine Monitor's investigative and in-depth reporting to serve the people of Maine.