Colin Woodard is the Press Herald’s State and National Affairs Writer, and is often at work on large investigative projects. Born in Waterville and raised in western Maine, he was a foreign correspondent for two decades, reported from more than fifty countries on all seven continents, and witnessed the collapse of communism and its bloody aftermath in Eastern Europe and the Balkans. He’s written five books, including histories of Maine (The Lobster Coast), North America’s rival regional cultures (American Nations) and the Golden Age Pirates (Republic of Pirates), which was turned into a quickly forgotten NBC mini-series starring John Malkovich as Blackbeard. Since joining the Press Herald in 2012, he’s won a George Polk Award and was a finalist for the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting. He used to be an avid sailor and SCUBA diver, but with small kids at home, his hobbies now include sleeping and picking up toys.
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PublishedMay 21, 2023
Exodus to the Pine Tree State
Over continents and years, through danger and illness, thousands of African asylum seekers, mostly from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola, have made their way to Maine. They tell harrowing stories of peril in their home countries and on their way to the United States, and say they came to Maine hearing they would find safety and help here.
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PublishedDecember 20, 2022
Electoral protections advance but tribal sovereignty provision left out of massive federal bill
The omnibus spending bill must pass the Senate and House to become law before the new Congress convenes on Jan. 4.
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PublishedDecember 14, 2022
Bill to protect electoral vote counts could pass next week, but time is short
Congressional leaders say reforms to the 1887 Electoral Count Act will be attached to a giant federal spending bill headed for a vote before Congress adjourns.
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PublishedDecember 8, 2022
Harvard study finds sovereignty constraints on Maine tribes caused them enormous economic damage
The Harvard Kennedy School study found Maine tribes’ economies grew by only 9 percent since 1989, far below the U.S. tribal average of 61 percent.
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PublishedNovember 27, 2022
As Maine’s influence in Congress wanes, Sen. Collins holds on to clout
Rep. Chellie Pingree will lose ground next year in a Republican-controlled House, but the Republican senator’s seniority makes her the vice chair of Appropriations, where Democrats will rely on her endorsements.
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PublishedNovember 27, 2022
Collins says Republican Party needs to take ‘hard look’ at itself
Maine’s senior senator says the national party needs to be more inclusive and must win over moderates and young people.
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PublishedNovember 18, 2022
Collins, King upbeat that electoral count reforms will pass during Congress’s lame duck session
The Senate bill, which aims to prevent a repeat of the tactic insurrectionists used on Jan. 6, 2021, gained six more sponsors this week.
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PublishedNovember 13, 2022
Midterms reveal Republican decline across large swaths of Maine
Democrats gained strength across the lower third of the state, holding onto the Blaine House, the Legislature and both U.S. House seats. Republicans confront a party in crisis.
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PublishedNovember 4, 2022
Early voting in Maine going smoothly, unlike in some states
Absentee ballot requests have already exceeded levels from last gubernatorial and midterm election in 2018, with Democrats slightly outpacing their previous proportion of requests.
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PublishedOctober 23, 2022
Outsider Sam Hunkler embraces an alternative way to run for office
Can a retired doctor from Down East get elected Maine governor without money, staff, political experience or a platform? The independent candidate intends to find out.
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