United States Senate elections in Maine, 2014

U.S. Senate, Maine General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Susan Collins Incumbent	67%	413,505
	Democratic	Shenna Bellows	30.8%	190,254
	Other	Other	0%	269
	Blank	None	2.1%	12,968
Total Votes				616,996
Source: Maine Secretary of State Official Results

2014 U.S. Senate Elections in Maine

General Election Date November 4, 2014

Primary Date June 10, 2014

November 4 Election Winner: Susan Collins

Incumbent prior to election: Susan Collins

Race Ratings Cook Political Report: Solid R Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe R

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2014 U.S. House Elections

Voters in Maine elected one member to the U.S. Senate in the election on November 4, 2014.

Incumbent Susan Collins (R), who was first elected in 1996, defeated Shenna Bellows (D) in the general election. On November 4, 2008, Susan Collins won re-election to the United States Senate.

Despite the fact that Maine was considered a blue state, Susan Collins (R) was generally considered safe in her bid for re-election in 2014. Cook Political Report rated the Maine Senate race as "Solid R," signifying Collins' was very likely to continue her tenure as a U.S. Senator. Financially, the Federal Election Commission showed that Collins was able to outspend her opponent by way of having more cash-on-hand.

Despite the odds heavily favoring Collins, Bellows had been reported to be staying resilient in her efforts to contest the Senate seat. She proved consistent in her fundraising and had managed to gain favor of out-of-state spenders in her campaign. In October, Maine born author Stephen King endorsed Bellows' campaign. Despite these efforts, October polls showed Collins still maintained a resounding lead that was difficult to narrow.

Republican consultant Erik Potholm commented on the race, saying, “She may be the strongest Republican incumbent in the country. She has sky high approval numbers and has become a political rock star in Maine. In the past she has easily crushed top tier Dem challengers like [former Rep.] Tom Allen and [now-Rep.] Chellie Pingree. I doubt any credible Dems will take her on this cycle. They would be crazy to do so.”

Collins and Bellows both faced no opposition in their primaries.

Candidate Filing Deadline	Primary Election	General Election
March 17, 2014	June 10, 2014	November 4, 2014

Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Maine utilizes a semi-closed primary process, in which both registered party members and unaffiliated voters may participate. Unaffiliated voters may vote in one partisan primary of their choosing in each election.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Voter registration: Voters needed register to vote in the primary by either May 20, 2014 (by mail or through voter registration drive) or on election day (in person). For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 14, 2014. However, there was no cut-off date for registering in person at the town office or city hall.

See also: Maine elections, 2014

Incumbent: The election filled the Senate seat held by Susan Collins (R). Collins was first elected in 1996.

Candidates

General election candidates

• Susan Collins - Incumbent
• Shenna Bellows

June 10, 2014, primary results

Republican Primary

• Susan Collins - Incumbenta

Democratic Primary

• Shenna Bellowsa

Rumored candidates

• Mike Turcotte - Adjunct ethics professor

Declined to run

• Bruce Poliquin
• Emily Cain
• Mike Michaud - Representative from District 2

Race background

Despite the fact that Maine was considered a blue state, Susan Collins (R) was generally considered safe in her bid for re-election in 2014.

Elections

General election results

The state of Maine held an election for the U.S. Senate on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Susan Collins (R) defeated challenger Shenna Bellows (D) in the general election.

U.S. Senate, Maine General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Susan Collins Incumbent	67%	413,505
	Democratic	Shenna Bellows	30.8%	190,254
	Other	Other	0%	269
	Blank	None	2.1%	12,968
Total Votes				616,996
Source: Maine Secretary of State Official Results

Issues

Economy

Balanced Budget Amendment

Of the three candidates running in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District and two candidates on the ballot for the U.S. Senate, Bellows was the only candidate who did not support passing a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Key votes

Below are important votes the incumbent cast during the 113th Congress.

Government shutdown

See also: United States budget debate, 2013

During the shutdown in October 2013, the Senate rejected, down party lines, every House-originated bill that stripped the budget of funding for the Affordable Care Act. A deal was reached late on October 16, 2013, just hours before the debt ceiling deadline. The bill to reopen the government, H.R. 2775, lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funded the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made by Senate Democrats was to require income verification for Obamacare subsidies. The final vote on H.R. 2775 was 81-18, with all 18 votes against the bill from Republican members. Susan Collins voted with the Democratic Party for the bill.

Endorsements

Susan Collins

• On May 16, 2014, Independent Senator Angus King endorsed Susan Collins.
  • King said in his endorsement, “I’ve seen firsthand her work ethic, her intelligence and her integrity. She always puts Maine and the country first and isn’t afraid to cross party lines to get things done. I think she’s one of the Senate’s MVP’s — smart, tough and always willing to listen. In my book, she’s a model senator, and I’m delighted to support her re-election.”
• In June 2014, the Human Rights Campaign endorsed Collins.

Polls

General election

General election match up
Poll	Susan Collins (R)	Shenna Bellows (D)	Undecided	Margin of Error	Sample Size
CBS/NYT/YouGov September/October 20-1, 2014	57%	33%	9%	+/-3.0	1,531
CBS/NYT/YouGov July 5-24, 2014	65%	29%	3%	+/-3.0	1,327
UNH/Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram June 12-18, 2014	72%	17%	10%	+/-4.3	527
Rasmussen Reports April 23-25, 2014	60%	24%	9%	+/-3.0	830
Public Policy Polling November 8-11, 2013	59%	20%	22%	+/-3.2	964
Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected]

Rumored candidates

General election match up
Poll	Susan Collins (R)	Chellie Pingree (D)	Undecided	Margin of Error	Sample Size
Public Policy Polling August 23-25, 2013	57%	34%	9%	+/-3.2	953
Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected]

General election match up
Poll	Susan Collins (R)	Stephen King (D)	Undecided	Margin of Error	Sample Size
Public Policy Polling August 23-25, 2013	54%	31%	15%	+/-3.2	953
Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected]

General election match up
Poll	Susan Collins (R)	Eliot Cutler (I)	Undecided	Margin of Error	Sample Size
Public Policy Polling August 23-25, 2013	53%	33%	14%	+/-3.2	953
Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected]

Republican primary

Republican primary
Poll	Susan Collins	Bruce Poliquin	Margin of Error	Sample Size
Public Policy Polling August 23-25, 2013	64%	24%	+/-3.2	953
Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected]

Campaign contributions

Candidate ballot access
Find detailed information on ballot access requirements in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Candidates for Congress were required to file up to seven main reports with the Federal Election Commission during the 2014 elections season.

Susan Collins (2014) Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
April Quarterly	April 15, 2013	$921,220.26	$374,028.55	$(63,543.74)	$1,231,705.07
July Quarterly	July 15, 2013	$1,231,705.07	$1,043,327.00	$(188,503.22)	$2,086,528.85
October Quarterly	October 13, 2013	$2,086,528.85	$805,793.81	$(125,679.77)	$2,766,642.89
Year-end	January 31, 2014	$2,766,642	$314,920	$(81,317)	$3,000,245
July Quarterly	July 15, 2014	$3,882,472	$451,815	$(303,107)	$4,032,710
October Quarterly	October 15, 2014	$4,032,710	$735,130	$(1,758,210)	$3,009,630
			Running totals
			$3,725,014.36	$(2,520,360.73)

Shenna Bellows (2014) Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
October Quarterly	October 15, 2013	$0.00	$0.00	$(0.00)	$0.00
Year End	January 31, 2014	$0	$333,957	$(100,343)	$233,614
April Quarterly	April 15, 2014	$233,614	$434,805	$(152,694)	$515,724
Pre-Primary	May 29, 2014	$515,724	$258,238	$(192,459)	$581,503
July Quarterly	July 15, 2014	$581,503	$305,997	$(237,320)	$650,200
October Quarterly	October 15, 2014	$650,200	$701,293	$(988,214)	$363,279
			Running totals
			$2,034,290	$(1,671,030)

Election history

2014

U.S. Senate, Maine General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Susan Collins Incumbent	67%	413,505
	Democratic	Shenna Bellows	30.8%	190,254
	Other	Other	0%	269
	Blank	None	2.1%	12,968
Total Votes				616,996
Source: Maine Secretary of State Official Results

2012

On November 6, 2012, Angus King won election to the United States Senate. He defeated Cynthia Dill, Charles Summers, Andrew Ian Dodge, Danny Francis Dalton and Stephen Woods in the general election.

U.S. Senate, Maine General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Independent	Angus King	51.1%	370,580
	Democratic	Cynthia Dill	12.8%	92,900
	Republican	Charles Summers	29.7%	215,399
	Libertarian	Andrew Ian Dodge	0.8%	5,624
	Independent	Danny Francis Dalton	0.8%	5,807
	Independent	Stephen Woods	1.4%	10,289
	N/A	Blank Votes	3.3%	24,121
Total Votes				724,720
Source: Maine Secretary of State "United States Senate Election Results"

2008

On November 4, 2008, Susan Collins won re-election to the United States Senate. She defeated Thomas H. Allen (D) in the general election.

U.S. Senate, Maine General Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Susan Collins incumbent	61.3%	444,300
	Democratic	Thomas H. Allen	38.6%	279,510
	N/A	Other	0.1%	620
Total Votes				724,430

See also

• United States House of Representatives elections in Maine, 2014
• United States Senate elections, 2014

External links

• Vote and discuss at SystemWiki
• Maine Elections and Voting
• List of primary candidates
• List of general election candidates

Footnotes

[show]

Maine's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Susan Collins (R)

Angus King (I)

Representatives

District 1

Chellie Pingree (D)

District 2

Jared Golden (D)

Democratic Party (2)

Republican Party (1)

Independent (1)