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We're about a month away from Election Day. 

There's a lot of attention, understandably, on the presidential race. And on the 2nd congressional district.

But we've learned something through our reporting on probate courts, opioid settlement spending decisions by county commissioners, and the way the Sagadahoc County Sheriff's Office lacked direction for welfare checks in the lead up to the Lewiston shooting: Maine's county officials wield more influence than many realize. 

We're launching our 2024 Maine voter guide today, and we've paid special attention to the county races. You can read about what the elected county officials do and see who's on the ballot in each of Maine's sixteen counties this November — plus how they responded to our candidate survey.

We've also built a comprehensive statehouse hub, with information on the state's 151 House districts and 35 Senate districts. You can look up your legislator, see what legislation they've sponsored, and more. Come November 5, those pages will be updated with race results in real time.

Take a look around, read up on your local races, and let us know what you think.

— Stephanie

Check out our 2024 Maine voter guide.

A quarter of Maine House races have only one major-party candidate. Here’s a map of those districts: The number of races where Democrats and Republicans did not face off rose significantly in the pandemic election of 2020, and has stayed at almost the same level since. Read this story by Josh Keefe.

A story of Randy Stakeman and an interview with Sean Alonzo Harris: Episode 7 of the Maine's Black Future podcast tells the stories of a founding professor of Africana Studies at Bowdoin College and the photographer Sean Alonzo Harris. Listen to this episode by Genius Black.

A new chapter for one Climate Monitor writer: Climate Monitor contributor Annie Ropeik reflects on her time co-writing the newsletter and talks next steps. Read this story by Annie Ropeik.

The $132M electricity rip-off

Private electricity suppliers, which promised rates lower than the government-set default, instead cost Mainers an extra $132 million over seven years.

Read this February 2020 story by Darren Fishell. 

Know of a story that we should be digging into? Send it to our newsroom. 

The Maine Monitor is a publication of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, an independent and nonpartisan nonprofit news organization. We believe news is a public good and keep our news free to access. We have no paywall and do not charge for our newsletters. If you value the reporting we do for Maine, please consider making a donation! We cannot do this reporting without your support.