"As Maine goes, so goes the nation" is a phrase that at one time was in wide currency in United States politics. The phrase described Maine's reputation as a bellwether state for presidential elections. Specifically, Maine's September election of a governor consistently predicted the party outcome of the November presidential election in presidential election years from 1832 (if not earlier) through 1844, in 1852, from 1860 through 1876, in 1888, from 1896 through 1908 and from 1920 through 1932. Politics of the United States of America takes place in a framework of a presidential republic, whereby the President of the United States is both head of state and head of government, and of a two-party legislative and electoral system. ... Official language(s) None (English de facto) Capital Augusta Largest city Portland Area  Ranked 39th  - Total 33,414 sq mi (86,542 km²)  - Width 210 miles (338 km)  - Length 320 miles (515 km)  - % water 13. ... In politics, a bellwether (often, incorrectly, bellweather or bellwhether) is a region whose political tendencies match in microcosm what occurs in a wider area. ... The United States presidential elections determine who becomes the President of the United States for the next four years. ...

Beginning with its creation as a state in 1820 when it split off from Massachusetts, Maine held its elections for statewide and congressional offices in September, not November as did most other states, due to warmer September weather and Maine's early harvest.^[1][2] (Maine did hold its presidential elections in November.)^[3] This article is about the U.S. State. ...

Maine's reputation as a bellwether began in 1840, when it voted in Edward Kent, the Whig Party candidate, as Governor of Maine. Two months later, the Whig party presidential candidate, William Henry Harrison, won the 1840 presidential election.^[1] Again in 1888 Maine voted solidly for Republican Party candidates, and Republican Benjamin Harrison won the presidential election despite losing the popular vote.^[4] The saying originated following this election, though it is unknown by whom.^[4] In subsequent election cycles, national political parties often went to considerable lengths to win Maine's early Congressional and statewide elections, despite the state's relatively small population (and hence few seats in the House of Representatives) and somewhat remote location. Edward Kent (January 8, 1802–May 19, 1877) was the Governor of the U.S. state of Maine during the Aroostook War. ... The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. ... This is a list of Governors of Maine since statehood in 1820. ... William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773 – April 4, 1841) was an American military leader, politician, and the ninth President of the United States. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... The Republican Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States; the other being the Democratic Party. ... Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833 – March 13, 1901) was the 23rd President of the United States, serving one term from 1889 to 1893. ... A political party is a political organization subscribing to a certain ideology or formed around very special issues. ... Seal of the House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives (or simply the House) is the lower of the two chambers of the United States Congress, the other being the Senate. ...

As Maine goes, so goes Vermont

In 1936, Maine elected a Republican Governor, Lewis O. Barrows, an overwhelmingly Republican state legislature, and an all-Republican congressional delegation in its early balloting, and Republicans trumpeted the phrase. Maine had elected a Democratic Governor and two Democratic congressmen in both 1932 (although the state had still voted for Republican President Herbert Hoover that November) and 1934, and the Democrats had been making gains in the Maine Legislature, so the Republican victories in Maine in September 1936 may have seemed indicative of a national Republican trend. That November, however, only Maine and Vermont voted for Republican nominee Alf Landon over President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1936 presidential election, giving Landon only eight electoral votes (the three from Vermont and the five from Maine),^[5] equalling the smallest total ever (as of 2006) won by a major-party nominee since the beginning of the current U.S. two-party system in the 1850s, and destroying the credibility of the phrase permanently. Democratic strategist James Farley quipped "As Maine goes, so goes Vermont."^[6][7] Official language(s) None[1] Capital Montpelier Largest city Burlington Area  Ranked 45th  - Total 9,620 sq mi (24,923 km²)  - Width 80 miles (130 km)  - Length 160 miles (260 km)  - % water 3. ... The Republican Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States; the other being the Democratic Party. ... This is a list of Governors of Maine since statehood in 1820. ... The Maine Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. ... These are tables of congressional delegations from Maine to the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives. ... The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States; the other being the Republican Party. ... Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964), the 31st President of the United States (1929-1933), was a world-famous mining engineer and humanitarian administrator. ... The Republican Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States; the other being the Democratic Party. ... Alfred M. Landon Alfred Mossman Alf Landon (September 9, 1887 – October 12, 1987) was an American Republican politician from Kansas, notable nationally for his 1936 nomination as the Republican opponent of Franklin D. Roosevelt. ... Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882–April 12, 1945), 32nd President of the United States, the longest-serving holder of the office and the only man to be elected President more than twice, was one of the central figures of 20th century history. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... 2006 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A two-party system is a form of party system where two major political parties dominate the voting in nearly all elections. ... // Events and Trends Technology Production of steel revolutionised by invention of the Bessemer process Benjamin Silliman fractionates petroleum by distillation for the first time First transatlantic telegraph cable laid First safety elevator installed by Elisha Otis Science Charles Darwin publishes The Origin of Species, putting forward the theory of evolution... James (Jim) Aloysius Farley (May 30, 1888–June 9, 1976) was an American politician who served as head of the Democratic National Committee and Postmaster General. ...

In 1957, Maine changed its election law to hold all general elections in November. Beginning in 1960 it held elections at the same time as the rest of the United States,^[6] ending the tradition of early voting. A general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are up for election. ...

Since Maine relinquished its status as presidential bellwether, Delaware, Missouri, Kentucky and Ohio have held the title over various spans of time. Official language(s) None Capital Dover Largest city Wilmington Area  Ranked 49th  - Total 2,491 sq mi (6,452 km²)  - Width 30 miles (48 km)  - Length 100 miles (161 km)  - % water 21. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Frankfort Largest city Louisville Area  Ranked 37th  - Total 40,444 sq mi (104,749 km²)  - Width 140 miles (225 km)  - Length 379 miles (610 km)  - % water 1. ... Official language(s) None Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus Largest metro area Cleveland Area  Ranked 34th  - Total 44,825 sq mi (116,096 km²)  - Width 220 miles (355 km)  - Length 220 miles (355 km)  - % water 8. ...

See also

• Missouri bellwether

Mean center of population for the United States, 1790–2000 (U.S. Census Bureau) The Missouri bellwether is a political phenomenon that notes that the state of Missouri has voted for the winner in every U.S. Presidential election since 1904 except in 1956. ...

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Harkavy, Jerry (September 6, 1998). 'As Maine goes' tradition went - long ago. AP/South Coast Today.
2. ^ 2006 Campaign Tip Sheet - Maine state profile. National Journal. Retrieved on 2006-10-13.
3. ^ Mills, Paul H. (September 10, 2006). 'As Maine goes'. Sun Journal (Lewiston, ME).
4. ^ ^{a b} Speel, Robert W. (1994). “Chapter 2: Vermont, the North, and Realignment”, Changing Patterns of Voting. Penn State Press. 
5. ^ Morison, Samuel Eliot (1972). “Chapter XII, The New Deal”, The Oxford History of the American People, Vol. 3, p. 328. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Ken Rudin (July 14, 2000). The Significance of the V.P. Pick. The Washington Post.
7. ^ "As the Nation Goes", Time Magazine, September 23, 1957.