PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The state of Maine's long-cherished reputation for political independence is being threatened by the nation's polarized politics, with more and more of its voters feeling pressured to take sides. So-called independents, or unenrolled voters, have gone from the state's largest voting bloc to trailing both major parties in just four years. Republicans, too, overtook unenrolled voters two years later. As of last month, a tally of active voters indicated there were 343,488 Democratic voters, 279,936 Republican voters and 273,298 unenrolled voters. The economist served in the Maine Senate as an independent, and remains active on political issues.

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Persons: Nikki Haley, Trump, Haley, ”, Zach Azem, — “, Sen, Angus King, Arizona’s Kyrsten, Vermont's Bernie Sanders, Jill Goldthwait, unenrolled, “, —, Paul LePage, Donald Trump, Mark Brewer, Brewer, they'll, State Shenna Bellows, Richard Woodbury, “ I’m, ” Woodbury, David Sharp, @David_Sharp_AP Organizations: New, New Hampshire GOP, Democratic, AP VoteCast, GOP, University of New Hampshire Survey, Republicans, Democratic Party, Republican, University of Maine, Trump, Congressional, State, Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Maine Senate Locations: PORTLAND, Maine, New Hampshire, Bar, District, Yarmouth