The New York Times, Press Herald collaborate on polling in key Maine elections
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The Portland Press Herald is collaborating with The New York Times and the Siena Research Institute to deliver several polls on Maine’s critical 2026 elections.
The first of these polls was released Monday, showing a very tight race for Maine’s U.S. Senate seat as voters think most about the control of Congress and the economy.
Maine voters have the potential to change the balance of the U.S. Senate in a critical election year where the state’s governor is also term-limited.
“We feel incredibly fortunate to be collaborating with two venerable institutions in an election year that matters so much in our state,” said Executive Editor Carolyn Fox. “We are grateful to both The Times and Siena for including us in their process while also taking time to train our staff on how to cover the poll results most effectively.
This is the first time The Times and Press Herald have worked together on a poll in Maine, and the first large-scale political public opinion poll conducted by the Press Herald in several years.
The Times/Siena Poll is regularly recognized as one of the best political polls in the country. Known for its innovative and accurate likely voter modeling, the Times/Siena polls work diligently to ensure that all Mainers are represented in polling.
Their experts surveyed more than 600 registered Maine voters from June 19 to June 26. They asked for their preferences on Senate , as well as how they view the direction of the country, and economic conditions in Maine.
Polling is not exact (this one has a margin of error of 4.8%) but gives us some indication of voter sentiment based on a relatively small sample size that is weighted based on expert Times and Siena analysis.
The New York Times/Portland Press Herald/Siena poll of Maine voters was funded with support from the Maine Trust for Local News.
Read about the results
Here’s how the Times/Press Herald/Siena poll works, and how to read the full results
The poll of likely Maine voters, based on hundreds of phone calls, paints a detailed picture of Mainers’ attitudes 5 months before the general election.
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