Democrats will retain control of Maine Legislature, expanding power in House

Democrats will retain their trifecta of control in Augusta for another term following victories in several legislative districts previously held by Republicans.

The party’s victory is part of a national wave of candidates gaining power in areas previously held by Republicans in response to economic woes and President Donald Trump’s declining popularity.

Though not all races have been called as of 6 p.m. Wednesday, Democrats have secured a majority by winning in at least 18 Senate races and 79 in the House of Representatives, according to The Associated Press. 

A Maine Morning Star analysis of results from the Bangor Daily News — which gathered totals from municipalities and partnered with Decision Desk HQ to make the calls — found several House and Senate districts where Democrats had captured seats formerly held by Republicans. A couple districts were also flipped by Republicans and independents.

That included 10 districts in the Maine House of Representatives — including in Sanford, Windham and Auburn — that Democrats are on track to win, nine of which have been called by the BDN. Republicans captured one seat in Lewiston, and Clinton Collamore, a former Democratic state representative, will likely turn his Waldoboro-area district from Republican to independent. 

At a Democratic victory party in Portland, House Speaker Ryan Fecteau highlighted the Auburn seat, called for Democrat Pamela Hart and previously held by Republican Rep. Laurel Libby, who rose to national prominence after she was punished by Fecteau for doxxing a transgender high school athlete on her legislative social media account. Libby chose not to run for re-election, focusing instead on her conservative advocacy organization, Lead Maine.

“I’ll be the first to welcome Laurel Libby as having to be represented by a Democrat now,” he said. “I just want Laurel to know she’s going to be represented really well, and that’s because when Democrats get elected, we serve everyone.”

Legislative Republicans did not respond to a request for comment.

Senate Democrats flipped four seats, beating two incumbent GOP senators: Scott Cyrway from Benton and Bruce Bickford from Auburn. Both were among the most hotly contested races with the most outside spending. Independent Sen. Rick Bennett, who ran for governor, will be replaced by Democrat Elizabeth Bosworth, turning a district that Bennett held for several years before he unenrolled from the Republican Party in 2025. 

On Wednesday morning, several Southern Maine legislators joined incoming Democratic Gov. Hannah Pingree at a press conference in Portland, during which she highlighted the work they aim to tackle together. 

“Legislating is a team sport, and you have to work together with a group of people to get things done,” said Democratic Rep. Traci Gere from Kennebunkport. “And we’re so lucky now… to have more numbers, more people to work on that team.”

Gere, who co-chaired the Legislature’s Housing and Economic Development Committee, said she particularly appreciated Pingree’s experience and commitment to working on affordable housing. 

“When you look at the affordability issues, housing costs make up the majority of everyone’s budget,” she said. “If we can really address housing costs, that will help relieve pressure for families all across the state.”

Sen. Jill Duson from Portland said maintaining the legislative majority  “is an opportunity and a challenge.” 

“The important thing for us to do right away is figure out how we’re going to govern, how we’re going to bring it home for Maine people,” she said.

“I’m just so damn excited and nervous because we got a big job ahead of us, but we’ll work together and make it happen.”

Pingree and the Democrat-led Legislature face a projected gap of more than $1 billion in the first two-year budget that they may be tasked with closing. Republicans had tried to make growth of the state budget a campaign issue, but Democrats pushed back, noting that it has corresponded with the state finally meeting its statutory obligations, including municipal revenue sharing to lower tax rates and funding 55% of education, as well as reducing the number of uninsured people.

The maps below show which candidates were determined to either have won or are leading in the races, based on Bangor Daily News and Decision Desk HQ’s projections.