A new omnibus poll from Pan Atlantic Research, a Portland-based research company headed by former Maine Democratic Party chair Victoria Murphy, sought to reveal Mainers’ opinions on a range of topics including their elected leaders, the future of their state, and several hot-button issues.
A strong plurality of Mainers were shown to feel pessimistic about the direction in which the state is currently headed.
Nearly half of Mainers feel that the State of Maine is currently on the wrong track, while just just under a third (32 percent) feel that things are moving in the right direction. The remaining 20 percent are unsure how they feel about the situation.
According to Pan Atlantic, this is the highest share of Mainers to indicate that things are on the wrong track in the past three years.
Interestingly, 55 percent of Maine Democrats – more than 20-points over the median -believe that things are currently going in the right direction, compared to just 20 percent of Independents and 19 percent of Republicans.
When asked to identify the top three issues facing the State of Maine, respondents overwhelmingly pointed toward inflation and the cost of living.
Health care access and affordability came in at a distant second, alongside housing and homelessness, as well as high taxes.
Respondents were also asked about their opinions of several key elected officials.
Sen. Angus King (I), known to primarily caucus with Democrats, is the only major politician to have received a net favorability rating in the December poll, showing an increase of 11 points compared this past May.
Gov. Janet Mills (D) was down 8 points during this same period, and Sen. Susan Collins (R) has dropped by 17 points.
President Donald Trump’s (R) favorability has fallen by 19 points over the past six months.
This survey also probed Mainers’ thoughts on their current, personal financial situations.
46 percent of those surveyed feel that they are worse off financially than this same time last year, while 37 percent indicated that things are about the same. Just 14 percent said that they are currently in a better position.
Although there is some gradation based on political affiliation, there was only an eight-point difference between the share of Democrats and Republicans indicating that their financial situation has worsened.
51 percent of Democrats shared a negative evaluation of their comparative financial situation alongside 49 percent of Independents and 43 percent of Republicans.
A larger share of Mainers, however, are a bit more optimistic about their prospective financial position going into 2026.
22 percent believe that they will be better off next year, while 36 percent feel that things will remain the same, and 30 percent predict that their financial situation will worsen. 12 percent of Mainers surveyed said they were unsure about what to expect in 2026.
Unlike with the previous question, political affiliation did appear to play a more prominent role in differentiating levels of optimism.
A whopping 47 percent of Democrats believe that their financial situation will worsen over the next year, compared to just 29 percent of Independents and 22 percent of Republicans.
Another area in which political affiliation appears to have led to differing opinions is the impact of tariffs.
While nearly 80 percent of Democrats feel that federal tariffs have negatively affected Maine, the same is true for just 41 percent of Independents and only 15 percent of Republicans.
42 percent of Republicans think that the tariffs have been actively good for Maine, alongside 16 percent of Independents and just 7 percent of Democrats.
Overall, there does not appear to be a clear consensus among Mainers on the impact of the tariffs, with 12 percent saying tariffs are good for the state, 30 percent saying they have a mixed impact, 31 percent saying they are negatively affecting the state, and 20 percent still unsure how they feel about them.
Two other hot-button issues were also addressed in this latest Pan Atlantic poll: compliance with federal policies concerning the participation of transgender athletes and the discussion surrounding a nationwide “Medicare for All” system.
A plurality of Mainers, 45 percent, indicated that they believe the state should bring itself into alignment with federal policies regarding the participation of transgender individuals in athletics in order to continue receiving federal funding.
Pan Atlantic notes that this share is down 9 points from the level recorded in their May poll.
36 percent of Mainers said that they do not think the state should comply with the federal requirements, while 19 percent remain either undecided or without an opinion on the issue.
Although a whopping 78 percent of Republicans want to see the state comply, a sizable 46 percent of Independents are also of the same mind. Just 17 percent of Democrats agree with this sentiments.
Concerning the possibility of a “Medicare for All” health insurance system, 20 percent of Mainers are either “somewhat” or “strongly” opposed to the idea, while 63 percent are supportive to some degree. 16 percent said that they have no opinion on the issue.
Political affiliation once again proved to have a strong association with individuals’ opinions on this subject.
Democrats and Independents were largely aligned on this issue, with 87 percent and 71 percent supporting the idea respectively, while the same was true for just 35 percent of Republicans.
