MAINE: As Usual

MAINE As Usual

The old saw that "as Maine goes, so goes the nation" has not been true in a presidential election since Maine and the nation went for Herbert Hoover in 1928. But politicos still view the September state election in Maine as an important barometrical event; the size of the G.O.P. majority in Maine is often used as a basis for predicting the national vote.

This year things looked bad for the Republicans. A scandal in the state liquor monopoly had rocked the administration of Governor Frederick G. Payne, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senator. Three days before election, the former chairman of the Liquor Commission, a Payne appointee, was indicted. More important was the fact that the party was splintered by factional disputes, including the bitter primary campaign in which Payne defeated Senator Owen Brewster. The Republican nominee for governor, State Senator Burton M. Cross, had three opponents—two disgruntled Republicans running as independents and an ex-Republican running as a Democrat.

With all these handicaps in mind, the G.O.P. brought Republican Vice-Presidential Candidate Richard Nixon into the state for four hard days of campaigning. This week Maine went overwhelmingly Republican, as usual. Payne, Cross and all three Republican Congressmen won by margins big enough to encourage Republicans.