44°18′26″N 69°46′54″W / 44.307138°N 69.781586°W
Maine State Senate | |
|---|---|
| Maine State Legislature | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
Term limits | 4 terms (8 years) |
| History | |
New session started | December 7, 2022 |
| Leadership | |
Majority Leader | |
Minority Leader | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 35 |
 | |
Political groups | Majority
Minority
Vacant
|
Length of term | 2 years |
| Authority | Article IV, Part Second, Maine Constitution |
| Salary | Session 1: $13,526/year Session 2: $9,661/year + per diem |
| Elections | |
Last election | November 8, 2022 (all 35 seats) |
Next election | November 5, 2024 (all 35 seats) |
| Redistricting | Legislative control |
| Meeting place | |
| State Senate Chamber Maine State House Augusta, Maine  | |
| Website | |
| Maine State Senate | |
The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, though the Maine Constitution allows for "an odd number of Senators, not less than 31 nor more than 35".[1] Unlike the lower House, the Senate does not set aside nonvoting seats for Native tribes. Because it is a part-time position, members of the Maine Senate usually have outside employment as well.
The Senate meets at the Maine State House in Augusta. Members are limited to four consecutive terms with each term being two years but may run again after a two-year wait.
Leadership
editUnlike many U.S. states, the Senate's leader is not the lieutenant governor, as Maine does not have a lieutenant governor. Instead, the Senate chooses its own president, who is also the first in the line of gubernatorial succession.
Composition of the 131st (2022–2024) Maine Senate
edit| Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)
|
Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Republican | Independ. | Vacant | ||
| Begin 126th Legislature (Dec. 2012) | 19 | 15 | 1 | 35 | 0 |
| End 126th Legislature | |||||
| Begin 127th Legislature (Dec. 2014)[b] | 14 | 21 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| End 127th Legislature | 15 | 20 | |||
| Begin 128th Legislature (Dec. 2016) | 17 | 18 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| End 128th Legislature | |||||
| Begin 129th Legislature (Dec. 2018) | 21 | 14 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| End 129th Legislature | |||||
| Begin 130th Legislature (Dec. 2020)[c] | 22 | 13 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| End 130th Legislature | |||||
| Begin 131st Legislature (Dec. 2022) | 22 | 13 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| November 5, 2024[d] | 12 | 34 | 1 | ||
| Latest voting share | 64.7% | 35.3% | 0% | ||
Officers
edit| Position | Name | Party |
|---|---|---|
| President of the Senate | Troy Jackson | Dem |
| Majority Leader | Eloise Vitelli | Dem |
| Assistant Majority Leader | Mattie Daughtry | Dem |
| Minority Leader | Trey Stewart | Rep |
| Assistant Minority Leader | Lisa Keim | Rep |
| Secretary of the Senate | Darek Grant | Non-Partisan |
| Assistant Secretary of the Senate | Jared Roy | Non-Partisan |
Members of the Maine Senate
editDistricts are currently numbered starting with 1 from north to south. While this is often reversed in the decennial redistricting, it was not reversed in the redistricting which occurred in 2021 and which went into effect beginning with the 2022 primary and general elections. The previous district lines, which were drawn in 2013 and were first used in the 2014 primary and general elections, were only in effect for 8 years rather than the usual 10 as Maine adjusted its legislative redistricting cycle to conform with most other states.
↑ denotes that the Senator first won in a special election
Past composition of the Senate
editNotable former members
edit- Augusta Kalloch Christie, first woman to serve in both houses of the Maine legislature, 1961-1964
Notes
edit- ^ The seat of Eric Brakey, who resigned on November 5, 2024 while moving out of state.
- ^ Includes a provisionally sworn-in Republican Sen.-elect who was subsequently revealed to have lost her election and replaced with the actual winner, a Democrat.
- ^ Includes a Sen.-elect who declined to take the oath of office.
- ^ Sen. Eric Brakey (R-20) resigned on November 5, 2024 while moving out of state.
References
editExternal links
edit- The Maine Senate official government website
- Maine Senate at Ballotpedia