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...