BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 19, 2022
When the Maine Legislature begins regular business next month, about 70 percent of members living in Maine’s most urban counties will be Democrats and 70 percent in the more rural areas will be Republicans. In a state where the urban-rural divide has proved a challenge to cohesion, an enhancing political diversion could widen that gap. Three counties — Oxford, Somerset and Piscataquis — don’t have Democrats in their delegation at all while Knox and Sagadahoc have no Republicans. In Aroostook County Republicans swept the county’s eight House races. Rural voters who once voted Democratic have become alienated from the party because of its increased emphasis on progressive social issues. Many in Maine’s urban areas believe that the GOP has passed them by with candidates like former President Donald Trump and former Gov. Paul LePage, who they see as chaotic and extreme.