Over the last four years, Republicans ruled Maine through control of its state Senate and governor, Paul LePage, who has described his style as “Trump before there was Trump.” Conflicts with the Democrat-controlled House and attorney general led to lawsuits flying nearly every month and, eventually, a government shutdown when there was no budget — all amid LePage’s stream of provocative name-calling that garnered national headlines.
But on Tuesday, in the greatest shift in partisan makeup of a state government in the United States this year, voters chose Democrat Janet Mills to replace a term-limited LePage and gave her party control of both chambers.