2014 United States Senate election in Maine

Candidates Declared • Susan Collins, incumbent U.S. senator Write-in candidates • Erick Bennett, conservative activist and director of the Maine Equal Rights Center (unenrolled as a Republican, see Campaign section) Declined • Scott D'Amboise, former Lisbon Falls selectman and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012 • Bruce Poliquin, former state treasurer, candidate for governor in 2010 and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012 (ran for ME-02) • Mark Willis, former Maine Republican national committeeman Furthermore, Erick Bennett was convicted in 2003 of assaulting his wife, which was upheld by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, though he maintained his innocence. Rick Bennett stated that Erick's views "[did] not represent the views of the Republican Party". The Kennebec Journal reported that Bennett was a write-in candidate for the Republican nomination. Polling Results == Democratic primary ==

Candidates Declared • Shenna Bellows, former executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine Declined • Emily Cain, state senator (ran for ME-02) • Mike Michaud, U.S. representative (ran for governor) Results == Independents ==

To qualify as an independent candidate for the U.S. Senate in Maine, a person needs to submit at least 4,000 valid signatures to the secretary of state by June 1. Any independent candidate must not have been enrolled in a political party after March 1 of the year the election occurs. Former Republican candidate Erick Bennett announced just before the March 17 primary filing deadline that he had left the Republican Party and would run as an independent, but Maine law required him to have unenrolled as a Republican by March 1 to do so. Therefore, he could not legally run as an independent. == General election ==

Background Heading into the 2014 cycle, only 12 U.S. Senate elections had involved two major party female nominees in U.S. history. Candidates • Shenna Bellows (Democratic), former executive director of the Maine ACLU • Susan Collins (Republican), incumbent U.S. senator Endorsements Predictions Polling • * Internal poll for Shenna Bellows campaign With Collins With Poliquin With Summers Results {{align|right|{{Switcher {{collapsible list | title = Legend The election was not close, with Collins winning all 16 of Maine's counties, and the election overall by a margin of 223,251 votes. Results by county By congressional district Collins won both of the congressional districts in the state, including one which also elected a Democrat. == See also ==