Maine Democrats Seize Historic Control of Legislature and Governor's Mansion
With a two-thirds Senate supermajority and a 90-61 House lead, the party will hold all key levers of state power when the body convenes in December.
By Sofia Ramirez ·
Maine residents will see a unified Democratic government take office next month after party members captured sweeping control of both legislative chambers on Tuesday. The new lineup gives Democrats a two-thirds supermajority in the State Senate and a comfortable margin in the House, pairing with the election of Hannah Pingree as governor to form a complete trifecta.
The shift is stark in the numbers. In the 35-seat upper chamber, Democrats will hold 24 seats against 11 for Republicans. In the House, Democrats and the independents who caucus with them will command 90 seats to 61. This represents the largest Democratic House majority since 2008 and the largest Senate majority since 1984.
Republicans lost 17 seats across the state, including districts they had held for years. Democrats flipped Senate District 15, ending a 14-year Republican hold in the Augusta area, and took Senate District 18 in Oxford County by a margin of just 50 votes. In the House, Democrats captured 13 seats while Republicans won only one, in Lewiston's District 96.
Leadership elections are already underway. House Democrats announced they will re-nominate Ryan Fecteau of Biddeford as Speaker. Matt Moonen of Portland will continue as majority leader, and Ambureen Rana of Bangor will serve as assistant majority leader. Senate leaders were expected to vote on their own slate on Friday.
The results were driven by strong performance in competitive districts and some unexpected wins in Republican-leaning areas. Democrat John Henkelman won House District 143 in Sanford by 364 votes, a district President Donald Trump carried by more than 12 points in the last presidential election. Similarly, Marissa Tasker defeated incumbent Thomas Lavigne in Berwick's District 148, a seat Trump won by six points in 2024.
Senate President Mattie Daughtry attributed the win to local campaigning rather than national trends. She stated that the result came from two years of work by candidates and staff who knocked on hundreds of thousands of doors across the state.
The new Legislature will convene for the first time on December 2 in Augusta. With control of both chambers and the governor's office, Democrats have the power to advance their legislative agenda with minimal opposition from the minority party.
The only Republican gain in the House came in District 96, where Kerryl Clement defeated Luke Jensen by 30 votes. In the Senate, Democrats defended every seat they held and added four more, solidifying their dominance in the upper chamber.
