Maine's Political Pulse

Feb 21 2025 20 ep. 9 mins 78

Maine's Political Pulse Podcast artwork

Maine's Political Pulse taps into the expertise of our political reporters Steve Mistler and Kevin Miller.Click here to subscribe to Maine's Political Pulse Newsletter.Maine's Political Pulse is made possible through the generous support of Lee Auto Malls and Maine Public's viewers and listeners.

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Feb. 21, 2025: Maine’s new 3-day waiting period law could become test case in new legal landscape on guns

Feb 21 2025 11 mins

Maine’s new, three-day waiting period on gun purchases passed the Legislature by the slimmest possible margin last year and narrowly averted a veto from Democratic Gov. Janet Mills. Now, gun rights advocates think the law could become the vehicle to erase waiting period laws in Maine and roughly a dozen other states.

Feb. 7, 2025: For years, RFK Jr.'s anti-vaccine rhetoric has found receptive ears in Maine

Feb 07 2025 8 mins

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has continued to push the long debunked claim that childhood vaccines cause autism. He has also argued that the COVID-19 vaccine was part of an elite plot to prolong the pandemic and shun other unproven or debunked remedies.

Jan. 31, 2025: Trump’s funding freeze and the clarion call for Maine, national Dems

Jan 31 2025 9 mins

Democrats’ response this week to President Donald Trump’s attempt to freeze all federal grants and loans already approved by Congress was a rare moment of swift, unified and urgent condemnation.

Jan. 17, 2025: Janet Mills' plan to fill Maine's first budget hole in over a decade

Jan 17 2025 12 mins

The tax and fee changes that Gov. Janet Mills put forward last week in her budget only add up to about $150 million in a two-year state spending plan that tops $11.6 billion. But new taxes and fees are always controversial, even when they are narrowly “targeted,” as Mills argues in this case.

June 12, 2024: Political Pulse primary elections recap

Jun 12 2024 8 mins

A look back at Tuesday's results and what they mean.

June 7, 2024: A primary primer as parties prepare to pick politicians at polls in Maine

Jun 07 2024 7 mins

Tuesday is primary election day in Maine (again) as voters head to the polls to select party nominees for Congress, the Legislature and local offices.

May 2, 2024: Here are the major takeaways from the 2nd session of the Maine Legislature

May 02 2024 8 mins

While lawmakers will return to the State House next week to take up the governor’s vetoes, the 131st Legislature has already left its imprint on some of the issues and challenges confronting the state.

March 29, 2024: Maine Democrats make last-minute push for 'red flag' gun law

Mar 29 2024 9 mins

Republicans have described the proposal as a late-session ambush designed to catch gun rights groups and the public off guard.

March 15, 2024: Politics roundup: Gun bills, Netflix tax

Mar 15 2024 13 mins

Maine lawmakers are plodding toward a mid-April adjournment with a slew of contentious issues to resolve, including gun safety and a new spending plan. Meanwhile, a divided Congress continues its obsession with the November election in its quest for historically unproductive governance.

March 1, 2024: What to know about Maine's primary elections ahead of Super Tuesday

Mar 01 2024 7 mins

Next Tuesday, voters in Maine and more than a dozen other states will cast ballots during the single-largest primary day of the 2024 elections.By presidential primary standards, this year’s Super Tuesday contests are relatively anti-climactic because the Republican and Democratic tickets are pretty much set at this point. Absent some ground-shaking legal or political developments