| Election Name: | 2014 United States Senate election in Maine |
| Country: | Maine |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2008 United States Senate election in Maine |
| Previous Year: | 2008 |
| Next Election: | 2020 United States Senate election in Maine |
| Next Year: | 2020 |
| Nominee1: | Susan Collins |
| Party1: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 413,495 |
| Percentage1: | 68.46% |
| Nominee2: | Shenna Bellows |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 190,244 |
| Percentage2: | 31.50% |
| U.S. Senator | |
| Before Election: | Susan Collins |
| Before Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Susan Collins |
| After Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
The 2014 United States Senate election in Maine took place on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins, who had served in the position since 1997, won reelection to a fourth term in office with 68% of the vote.[1] [2] The primary elections were held on June 10, 2014. As of, this was the last time the Republican candidate won the counties of Cumberland and Knox.[3]
Maine Republican Party Chairman Rick Bennett was critical of Erick Bennett's campaign, stating that he did not believe Erick would get the necessary signatures to get on the ballot. After making it clear the two men are not related, Rick felt that this would be due to Erick's views as expressed on his Facebook page. These included referring to U.S. Representative Mike Michaud as a "closet homo" and criticism of Nelson Mandela, comparing him to Stalin and Karl Marx.[11] Furthermore, Erick Bennett was convicted in 2003 of assaulting his wife, which was upheld by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, though he maintains his innocence.[12] Rick Bennett stated that Erick's views "do not represent the views of the Republican Party".
Erick Bennett announced before the primary filing deadline on March 17 that he had left the Republican Party and would run as an independent.[6] Maine law, however, requires that an independent candidate must have not been in a political party by March 1 of the election year in order to run as an independent, meaning Bennett cannot legally run as such.[13] The Kennebec Journal reported that Bennett was a write-in candidate for the Republican nomination.[8]
On April 3, 2014, Collins' campaign announced the joint endorsement of Bath Iron Works' labor unions, which the campaign claimed was the first time the unions issued a joint endorsement as well as the first time they endorsed a Republican candidate for federal office.
| Poll source | Susan Collins | conservative | Other | Undecided | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | Public Policy Polling | January 18–20, 2013 | 430 | ± 4.7% | 49% | 46% | — | 6% | ||
| align=left | Public Policy Polling | August 23–25, 2013 | 321 | ± 5.5% | 47% | 48% | — | 5% | ||
| align=left | Public Policy Polling[16] | November 8–11, 2013 | 331 | ± 5.4% | 48% | 44% | — | 7% |
To qualify as an independent candidate for the U.S. Senate in Maine, a candidate needs to submit at least 4,000 valid signatures to the secretary of state by June 1. Any independent candidate must not have been enrolled in a political party after March 1 of the year the election occurs.[21]
Former Republican candidate Erick Bennett announced just before the March 17 primary filing deadline that he had left the Republican Party and would run as an independent, but Maine law required him to have unenrolled as a Republican by March 1 to do so. Therefore, he could not legally run as an independent.[6] [13]
Heading into the 2014 cycle, only 12 U.S. Senate elections had involved two major party female nominees in U.S. history.[23]
| Source | Ranking | As of | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | The Cook Political Report[24] | November 3, 2014 | ||
| align=left | Sabato's Crystal Ball[25] | November 3, 2014 | ||
| align=left | Rothenberg Political Report[26] | November 3, 2014 | ||
| align=left | Real Clear Politics[27] | November 3, 2014 |
| Poll source | Susan Collins (R) | Shenna Bellows (D) | Other | Undecided | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | Public Policy Polling | November 8–11, 2013 | 964 | ± 3.2% | 59% | 20% | — | 22% | ||
| align=left | Rasmussen Reports[28] | April 23–25, 2014 | 830 | ± 3% | 60% | 24% | 6% | 9% | ||
| align=left | University of New Hampshire[29] | June 12–18, 2014 | 527 | ± 4.3% | 72% | 17% | — | 10% | ||
| align=left | CBS News/NYT/YouGov[30] | July 5–24, 2014 | 1,356 | ± 2.7% | 63% | 28% | 2% | 6% | ||
| align=left | Public Policy Polling | August 16–18, 2014 | 679 | ± 3.8% | 57% | 33% | — | 10% | ||
| align=left | CBS News/NYT/YouGov[32] | August 18 – September 2, 2014 | 1,202 | ± 4% | 58% | 26% | 3% | 12% | ||
| align=left | Rasmussen Reports[33] | September 3–4, 2014 | 750 | ± 4% | 59% | 31% | 2% | 7% | ||
| align=left | University of New Hampshire[34] | September 18–25, 2014 | 482 | ± 4.4% | 59% | 29% | — | 11% | ||
| align=left | CBS News/NYT/YouGov[35] | September 20 – October 1, 2014 | 1,531 | ± 3% | 57% | 33% | 1% | 9% | ||
| align=left | Pan Atlantic SMS[36] | September 23–29, 2014 | 400 | ± 4.9% | 68% | 25% | — | 7% | ||
| align=left rowspan=2 | Bangor Daily News/Ipsos[37] | October 6–12, 2014 | 540 LV | ± 4.8% | 56% | 31% | 5%[38] | 7% | ||
| 903 RV | ± 3.7% | 53% | 31% | 7%[39] | 10% | |||||
| align=left | University of New Hampshire[40] | October 15–21, 2014 | 667 | ± 3.8% | 65% | 30% | — | 4% | ||
| align=left | Pan Atlantic SMS[41] | October 15–21, 2014 | 400 | ± 4.9% | 67% | 27% | — | 7% | ||
| align=left | CBS News/NYT/YouGov | October 16–23, 2014 | 1,177 | ± 5% | 54% | 35% | 0% | 10% | ||
| align=left | Bangor Daily News/Ipsos[42] | October 23–29, 2014 | 488 | ± 5.1% | 64% | 32% | 2% | 3% | ||
| align=left | Maine People's Resource Center[43] | October 31 – November 2, 2014 | 906 | ± 3.25% | 57% | 37% | — | 5% |
With Collins
| Poll source | Susan Collins (R) | Eliot Cutler (I) | Undecided | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | Public Policy Polling | August 23–25, 2013 | 953 | ± 3.2% | 53% | 33% | 14% | ||
| align=left | Maine People's Resource Center[44] | September 8–10, 2013 | 652 | ± 3.84% | 58% | 28% | 14% |
| Poll source | Susan Collins (R) | Chellie Pingree (D) | Undecided | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | Public Policy Polling | January 18–20, 2013 | 1,268 | ± 2.8% | 58% | 33% | 9% | ||
| align=left | Public Policy Polling | August 23–25, 2013 | 953 | ± 3.2% | 57% | 34% | 9% |
With Poliquin
With Summers
The election was not close, with Collins winning all 16 of Maine's counties, each by a margin of at least 24 percentage points.[45]