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Endorsements are a cornerstone of the League’s advocacy approach. Following Tuesday’s general election, we can now report the results of both local and federal races. While four races have not been posted by the Maine House of Representatives and some recounts are expected, we are proud to report that based on the current results, we have a 94.5% win rate for candidates endorsed by the Maine Credit Union League. We expect this percentage to increase following the results of recounts.
Senator King and Representative Pingree handily won re-election. Representative Golden, in a closely-contested race against State Representative Austin Theriault, is winning re-election, although a recount is likely. All three incumbents were endorsed by the League, giving us a potential 100% success rate for federal endorsements.
At the state level, all 27 of our endorsed candidates for State Senate won their elections, while currently 74 of the 80 endorsed candidates for House have secured a seat in the chamber in January. The State House remains under control of the Democrats, with the Senate being split 20 Democrats to 15 Republicans and the House split with 76 Democrats, 2 Independents, and 73 Republicans. These are much tighter margins for the incoming legislature than the previous.
The election of former President Donald Trump will have impacts on both the NCUA and the CFPB. Shortly after the inauguration, we expect Vice Chair Kyle Hauptman to take over as Chairman of the NCUA. The board will still function with a 2-1 Democratic majority until Chairman Harper’s term expires in April of 2027, at which point we expect both Chairman Harper and Vice Chair Hauptman (whose term expires December 2026) to be replaced by Republicans.
The CFPB will likely see a new Director shortly after President Trump’s inauguration. It is unclear what direction a new administration will take the CFPB; however, during President Trump’s last term we saw a more reserved CFPB with limited actions being taken.
Please contact a member of the League’s Governmental Affairs team if you have any questions regarding the election results or our endorsements.