The liberal dream of circumventing the Electoral College might be crumbling faster than anyone expected. Maine, one of the 17 states that joined the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, is now poised to become the first state to exit the agreement—and it's sending shockwaves through the left-wing coalition that thought they'd found a clever workaround to the Constitution.
Just last year, Maine opted to join the compact, which would award all participating states' electoral votes to whoever wins the national popular vote.
But now the state is having serious second thoughts.
The Maine House passed a bipartisan bill on Tuesday to withdraw from the compact, and it's headed to the state Senate.
Let’s be honest—this reversal is no coincidence. The National Popular Vote compact has always had a partisan flavor, pushed hardest by Democrats who’ve long been frustrated by Electoral College outcomes they don’t like. The 2000 election was clearly a factor, and Trump’s 2016 victory over Hillary Clinton only supercharged the movement. Liberal states such as California and New York signed on, bringing the total to 209 electoral votes—still 61 short of the 270 needed to activate the compact.
Flashback: The Case Against the National Popular Vote Compact
Heading into 2024, there were growing whispers that Trump might once again win the presidency without the popular vote, and it’s easy to imagine how that would have reignited the left’s push to ditch the Electoral College altogether. But thankfully, we’ll never have to find out—because Trump crushed Kamala Harris in both the Electoral College and the national popular vote.
But Maine's experience perfectly illustrates why the compact was always a bad idea. The state joined when Democrats figured Trump could never win the popular vote again. But Trump's decisive popular vote victory in 2024 changed everything. Had the compact been in effect with current members, Trump would have carried a whopping 520 electoral votes, instead of the 312 he actually won.
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The irony is delicious. Democrats pushed this compact because they thought it would permanently benefit their party’s candidates.
"We were the first state in the nation to split our Electoral College votes by congressional district—a system that reflects our political diversity and values, every voice, whether rural or urban," said Maine state Rep. Barbara Bagshaw, who sponsored the withdrawal bill. "By joining the National Popular Vote Compact, we have undermined that."
Bagshaw's got a point. Maine and Nebraska are the only two states that split their electoral votes by congressional district rather than winner-take-all. This system actually gives rural and urban voters meaningful representation—something the popular vote compact would completely destroy.
Talk about buyer's remorse.
Now that Trump has proven he can win both the Electoral College and the popular vote, blue states are scrambling for the exits. Make no mistake about it—if Maine successfully withdraws, other states may follow. The compact was built on the false premise that Republicans couldn't win the national popular vote, and Trump just shattered that illusion completely.
Is this the beginning of the end of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact?
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