Maine, state, United States: Government and Higher Education

Maine is governed under its 1820 constitution as amended. The state has a two-house legislature of 35 senators and 151 representatives, all elected for two-year terms; the governor is elected for a four-year term and may be reelected once. The state elects two representatives and two senators to the U.S. Congress and has four electoral votes. Maine politics are noted for their unpredictability, electing Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, mostly of a centrist political orientation.

Among the state's leading educational institutions are Bowdoin College, at Brunswick; Colby College, at Waterville; Bates College, at Lewiston; the Univ. of Maine, with campuses at Orono and five other locations; and the Univ. of Southern Maine, at Portland.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Political Issues since the 1850s
• Statehood and Prosperity
• Revolution and Economic Development
• Early Inhabitants and European Colonization
• Government and Higher Education
• Economy
• Geography
• Facts and Figures

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