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Happy Thursday!

We have another break from fall weather today, with highs projected to reach into the upper 60s over parts of the state. More rain showers are likely across Maine, but given the perpetual drought, we can use it.

Speaking of drought, Tuesday’s election came like a thirst-quenching rain for Democrats in deep-red places like Texas and Kansas, allowing them to take control of both chambers of Congress for President Donald Trump’s final two years in office.

Republicans sought to shore up their congressional majorities with a redistricting blitz in states like Texas, but that mid-decade gerrymandering backfired, resting on assumptions that voters wouldn’t become dissatisfied with the president and that his 2024 inroads with Latino voters and other groups marked a more-permanent political realignment. But, on Tuesday, Democrats reversed Trump’s gains with Hispanic, Black and young voters.

Now the blame game is underway in Republican circles. Trump is distancing himself from Republicans who lost — in some cases even, his chosen picks. Vice President JD Vance is blaming Trump’s Iran war for the midterm rout, which Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called an “extinction-level event” for his party.

Elections have consequences is a common refrain. Trump spent weeks urging voters to close their eyes and pretend he’s on the ballot. He dismissed concerns about the rising cost of living, going so far as to call it a hoax.

This year, for a president who has shattered norms and expectations for years, elections are consequences.

After years of trying, Ellsworth businessman picked for public office at 78

John Linnehan won a seat on the Ellsworth school board Tuesday, marking his first ever successful bid for public office after more than two decades of failed campaigns. Credit: Courtesy of John Linnehan

In local Maine elections, it’s not uncommon to see candidates who run every time there’s an opening and lose like clockwork. So, why do they keep doing it?

For John Linnehan, who has run failed religiously centered campaigns for various state and local offices for two decades, it’s always been about the message.

“I’ve never really run with the intent to win an election,” Linnehan told the Bangor Daily News on Wednesday. “I just want to focus on what the issues are and try to make the public aware of how to correct them.”

The 78-year-old businessman finally broke through Tuesday, snagging one of two open seats on the Ellsworth school board in a five-way race, and proving that it’s never too late for a perennial also-ran to come out on top.

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The U.S. Capitol is photographed Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, in Washington. The national debt reached a record $40 trillion earlier this year. Credit: Rahmat Gul / AP

“Congress has not passed a complete budget on time for 30 years.”

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