MPBN Interviews Professor Emeritus Palmer on Maine’s Political Independence
Kenneth Palmer, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Maine, spoke with the Maine Public Broadcasting Network for the report “Why is Maine so politically independent?” Maine has more unenrolled voters than it does voters registered with either of the major parties, and it is also one of the most reliably “purple” states, which means in both statewide and presidential elections, Mainers may vote for a member of either party, according to the report. Palmer spoke about several reasons for the high number of independent voters in the state, including Maine’s communitarianism culture, high political engagement and dislike of professional politicians.