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Former Maine Governor Paul LePage held a rally in Augusta on Wednesday to officially launch his 2022 gubernatorial election campaign. Video...

LEWISTON, Maine — Remember Paul LePage? Sure you do. He’s the former governor of Maine who has called himself, accurately enough, “Donald Trump before Donald Trump” — a hot-headed, vulgar and sometimes erratic figure who regularly made international headlines for doing things like celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day by telling the NAACP to “kiss my butt,” rushing up to a television crew at the State House to volunteer that a state senator liked “to give it to the people without providing Vaseline,” and leaving an unhinged, obscenity-filled message for a Democratic legislator which he said he wanted recorded and...

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) will endorse former Republican Gov. Paul LePage as he seeks a third term in the governor's mansion, the senator’s office confirmed to The Hill. “As Maine recovers from the pandemic, Paul is the best candidate to grow our economy,” Collins will say in a prerecorded one-minute video, according to the Portland Press Herald, which obtained the video and first reported Collins’s coming announcement.

A recent SurveyUSA poll shows Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) could find trouble heading into the Democrat primary for her reelection as the 2022 midterms approach. The poll found that Maine’s Senate president, State Sen. Troy Jackson (D), has a strong standing in the hypothetical poll going head-to-head against Mills next June in the primary:

It’s still well under the radar, but the movement to circumvent the Electoral College gained ground this week. On Sunday, Jared Polis, the governor of Colorado, said he would sign a bill to join the National Popular Vote interstate compact, whose members have pledged to give their electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote. The Maine Legislature, likewise, is mulling membership and will hold hearings to discuss the issue. Attacking those lawmakers, Paul LePage, the former governor of Maine — who still calls into conservative radio shows from his retirement home in Florida — dismissed the proposal...

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant joined 15 other Republican leaders across the country in signing a brief that asks the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that the 1964 Civil Rights Act does not protect transgender people and that employers have the right to fire them for their gender identity. #The amicus brief comes after lawyers from the Alliance Defending Freedom asked the Supreme Court to hear an appeal of a ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In the ruling, the court decided a Michigan employer—a devout Christian—violated an employee's Title VII protections by firing her after she disclosed...

Gov. LePage hospitalized in Bangor After feeling some 'discomfort', he went to a hospital in New Brunswick, then to Presque Isle and finally EMMC. Gov. Paul LePage was taken by ambulance to a Bangor hospital after experiencing discomfort Saturday while visiting family in New Brunswick. LePage arrived at Eastern Maine Medical Center at 11:30 p.m. Saturday night, according to a news release from his office. He was held overnight and “resting comfortably,” Sunday afternoon. “Doctors said he is very strong and healthy,” said the release. No details were given about the nature of his discomfort. LePage first went to a...

President Donald Trump is pushing Maine Gov. Paul LePage to run for the U.S. Senate, according to White House advisers. Trump has told advisers he plans to call LePage, the bombastic governor who endorsed him in February 2016, and ask him to jump in against Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, in 2018 — and that he would endorse him. King is an independent who often caucuses with Democrats. White House officials have been in touch with LePage’s political team in recent weeks, according to two people with knowledge of the talks. LePage came up again Tuesday at a White House meeting...

The idea of doing away with the Maine Turnpike Authority and eliminating tolls has a long and unsuccessful history through both Democratic and Republican administrations.Gov. Paul LePage revived the concept at a town hall meeting in Gorham on Wednesday night, saying he would like to see the turnpike authority merged with the Maine Department of Transportation and the elimination of almost all tollbooths, having one only in Kittery to collect tolls from out-of-state drivers. “The only toll we should have is for the visitors coming in and out of the state in the summer months,” LePage said, adding that Mainers...

Democratic U.S. Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights leader who says he doesn't see Donald Trump as a "legitimate president," should be grateful for all that Republican presidents have done for black people, GOP Gov. Paul LePage said Tuesday. LePage, who's white, said on WVOM-FM that the black Democratic Georgia congressman needs a history lesson. "We're sick of the silver-tongued people. How about John Lewis last week? Criticizing the president?" LePage said. "You know, I will just say this: John Lewis ought to look at history. It was Abraham Lincoln that freed the slaves. It was Rutherford B. Hayes and...

Maine Gov. Paul LePage may have considered a proposal to prohibit food stamp recipients from using their benefits to buy candy and sodas to be a sweet one, but the Obama administration disagrees. The friction between the Republican governor and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has reignited a debate after the Obama administration denied LePage’s request to put restrictions on what can be purchased with food stamps. In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, LePage said: “It’s time for the federal government to wake up and smell the energy drinks.” In an interview with The Daily Signal, LePage’s health...

Maine Gov. Paul LePage is so angry at Democrats for rejecting one of his nominees that he canceled the swearing-in ceremony for a newly elected senator. […] The election was won by Democrat Susan Deschambault, of Biddeford. She arrived at the Statehouse on Friday for a scheduled ceremony at LePage’s office. But she was told it had been canceled. …

Maine is the first state in New England to give dying patients the right to use experimental drugs. Republican Gov. Paul LePage signed legislation Wednesday that allows terminally ill patients to use treatments that have not received final approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. […] The legislation was sponsored by Rep. Thomas Longstaff, a Waterville Democrat who had worked as a hospital chaplain. …

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz gained momentum on Saturday, projected as the winner of the nominating contests in Kansas and Maine and the winner of a "straw poll" of conservative activists. Cruz, currently in second place in a Republican field that has been winnowed to just four, is seeking to dent the lead of brash New York billionaire Donald Trump. Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton are each looking to strengthen their front-runner status as five states hold presidential nominating contests on Saturday. Trump has a substantial lead in the delegates needed to secure the nomination at the Republican National Convention...

A Maine abortion clinic chain plans to begin selling chemical abortion drugs via webcam, making Maine the third state to allow the dangerous procedure. The Portland Press Herald reports the Maine Family Planning abortion group, based in Augusta, announced plans Monday to begin offering the webcam abortions at 16 regional clinics in the state. The abortion clinic said women would consult with a doctor on a webcam at one of the regional clinics before being given the first of two chemical abortion drugs, according to the report. The woman would take the first drug at the clinic and the second...

Republican voters in Maine are gathering Saturday to participate in the presidential nominating caucus where pundits picked Donald Trump to win riding on the momentum he picked up on Super Tuesday and the endorsement from Maine Gov. Paul LePage. While there is a lack of polling for Saturday's elections, the results could be unpredictable as both Trump and Clinton have been weaker in caucus states that in primary states, as reported by the New York Times. Results from Saturday's caucus will be announced by the party in Lewiston at 7 p.m. Unofficial results from Maine show Texas Sen. Ted Cruz...

Maine · 23 delegates 5% reporting Votes Ted Cruz 48.0% 662 Donald Trump 35.0% 482 Marco Rubio 8.6% 118 John Kasich 7.4% 102

PORTLAND, Maine —The Maine Republican Party is expecting a record-breaking turnout for Saturday's caucus. So much so that the party has printed 80,000 ballots for caucuses throughout the state. Donald Trump's campaign hopes that excitement pays off for them with a win. Donald Trump's son Eric Trump sayid there is lots of excitement for his dad's campaign in Maine. Eric Trump joined his father for a campaign rally Thursday and said he felt lots of energy from Maine supporters.

Maine election officials have cleared a firearm background check proposal for the November ballot. Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap said Thursday that the referendum supporters obtained 65,821 valid signatures, exceeding the minimum threshold by more than 4,500. The proposal would require a background check before a firearm sale or transfer between individuals. The parties would be required to meet at a licensed firearm dealer, who would conduct a background check on the gun recipient and complete the sale. There are exceptions, including transfers between family members. The proposal will go to voters unless Maine lawmakers approve it.

Christie's ground game doesn't match his aggressive debate style. His volunteer effort it rather tame. The NJ crowd didn't make the 4-hour drive north to New Hampshire.