Maine Election Day

The party had been more successful in regional races, including the U.S. House of Representatives, where the party had uninterrupted control of both of Maine’s seats since 1997. But that dominance was ended this month, when GOP candidate Bruce Poliquin won in the 2nd Congressional District.

In the Legislature, where Democrats had enjoyed decades of near-total dominance in both chambers, Republicans have begun showing an ability to flip seats, especially in midterm elections. The GOP took majorities in both the House and Senate in 2010 before losing both in 2012, when Democrats were buoyed by the presidential election.

Then there’s Gov. Paul LePage — the bellicose businessman from the traditional Democratic stronghold of Lewiston — who emerged from relative political obscurity when he won the governor’s race in 2010 and defied expectations with a decisive win this year. LePage went from 38 percent of the total vote in 2010 to 48 percent in 2014, despite the pundit classes predicting he’d be undone by his combative attitude and the slew of controversies it caused.

What has been the Democrats’ unraveling, and how can they rebound in 2016 and beyond? Here’s what a collection of party officials and outside analysts have identified as keys to a turnaround.

Democrats must show that they can be responsible stewards of voters’ tax dollars. That was the message from Mike Cuzzi, a Democratic operative and commentator speaking as part of a post-election panel on Wednesday at the University of Southern Maine.

Cuzzi said LePage successfully made the 2014 election about welfare reform, lower taxes and business investments, all of which had an undercurrent of fiscal responsibility. Those themes showed “deep fidelity with working-class voters, ” he said.

“Democrats, by comparison, were talking about minimum wage, Medicaid expansion and renewable energies, ” Cuzzi said. “We have paper mills shutting down in this state for want of access to natural gas, and the Democratic Party is talking about wind. … It’s a fundamental disconnect.”