Even voters in independent-minded Maine are taking sides in a polarized nation

By DAVID SHARP
Associated Press

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s vaunted independent voters are becoming scarcer as Super Tuesday approaches. Unenrolled voters represented the state’s largest voting bloc for more than three decades and contributed to the state’s political identity in a place with a reputation for pragmatic moderation. But that distinction no longer holds. Democrats have the largest share of active voters with 36.2%, followed by Republican voters with 29.5% and then unenrolled voters with 28.8%. Observers say the change mirrors the nation’s polarized politics. It also could help former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley in the state’s Super Tuesday primary. She got a boost from unaffiliated voters in New Hampshire, and Maine has changed its rules to allow them to participate in party primaries.