I think one thing people in the MSM are overlooking is that people “changed” in Oct 2008. The Financial mess was sort of like a financial 9/11 in the sense that many people got more conservative with their finances. This is a sea change.
I bet there are a lot more “fiscal conservatives” than they used to be.
The Democrats have controlled the State legislature for the past 50 years I think. I think Maine has only elected a Republican governor once in that time. It is a real contrast in the state. The large cities, such as Portland, Auburn, Bangor, are very liberal. The suburbs are rural areas are very conservative. There are several universities here that are very liberal. It’s basically difficult for conservatives to win statewide because there are so many people, students, etc. either working for the government or on public assistance, that they automatically vote Democrat every time. Maine is also a “sanctuary” state for illegal immigrants, and same day voter registration is allowed. Portland sometimes goes 80% Democrat in elections. SEIU, teacher’s, and other unions have a lot of clout here.
Maine turned liberal in the 80’s, when sharp divisions emerged between rural North and suburban South. The factora were massive immigration from Massachusetts (So. Maine is a commutable distance to the high-tech cluster north of Boston) and retreat of the paper companies in the North. Then-senator George Mitchell engineered the upset using labor sentiments in the North, liberal infection in the South, and his political clout.