The Maine Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Maine. After the Civil War, Democrats were a minor player in a political scene dominated by the Republican Party. However, during the 1950s, Edmund Muskie led an expansive political insurgency culminating in his election as Governor of Maine and successive Democratic elections to both state and national offices. From 2012 to 2019, despite having a Republican governor in Paul LePage, the party remained strong, holding key offices in the state government and the U.S. Congress and maintaining a majority in the Maine House of Representatives for six of LePage's eight years in office. It is currently the state's favored party, controlling both houses of the state legislature, governorship, and both of Maine's U.S. House seats. One of Maine's U.S. Senate seats is currently held by Angus King, an Independent who caucuses with the Democrats. Current Democratic officeholders Members of Congress U.S. Senate None Maine's U.S. Senate Class I seat has been held by Independent Angus King since 2012 (though King does caucus with the Senate Democrats) while the Class II seat has been held by Republican Susan Collins since 1996. Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell was the last Democrat to represent Maine in the U.S. Senate. Appointed in May 1980 to fill the vacancy left by Edmund Muskie after Muskie's appointment as the U.S. Secretary of State, Mitchell was subsequently elected to a full term in 1982. After winning a second term in 1988, Mitchell opted to retire instead of seeking a third term. Congressman Thomas Andrews ran as the Democratic nominee in the 1994 election and was subsequently defeated by Republican challenger Olympia Snowe. U.S. House of Representatives Out of the 2 seats Maine is apportioned in the U.S. House of Representatives, both are held by Democrats: Statewide officials Democrats control the Governor's office, as well as the three statewide offices filled by the Maine Legislature: Attorney General: Aaron Frey State Treasurer: Henry Beck State legislative leaders Senate President: Troy Jackson Senate Majority Leader: Eloise Vitelli Assistant Senate Majority Leader: Mattie Daughtry House Speaker: Rachel Talbot Ross History The Democratic Party has history dating back to the 1800s. Maine entered the Union in 1820 as an Anti-Federalist state. Soon after, in 1834, the Anti-Federalists adopted the Democratic Party name. The Democrats had limited success for nearly a hundred years, in part due