akashic
1876–2024
State Senate District 17·Maine

Maine 17th State Senate District votes the way the country votes.

A rural Maine district that leans reliably Republican in federal contests

1876 — 2024·38 elections
ME
Latest
R+6
in 2024
Archetype
Bellwether
since the recent cycles
Population
70,777
2024 ACS

Maine 17th State Senate District, Maine: Bellwether district. In 2024, voted R+6%. Democratic peak: D+58 in 1964.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin
R+6MIT Election Lab
Political archetype
BellwetherAkashic typology
Population
70,7772024 5-year
Median household income
$68,0352024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
88.2%2024 5-year
Black
5.0%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
2.2%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+58 in 1964MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+38 in 1896MIT Election Lab
2024 results by constituent county
2 counties · 0 D · 2 R
R+60
D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
R
−5.6%
17,18819,27537,252
R
−2.3%
17,53518,41337,510
R
−8.6%
14,62617,62334,998
D
+12.9%
18,28813,99833,316
D
+15.2%
19,54714,30734,576
D
+10.4%
19,14715,47635,292
D
+12.7%
16,51912,57231,018
D
+30.2%
16,5447,66629,416
D
+14.3%
13,9018,94134,580
R
−4.8%
13,20114,53627,964
R
−15.6%
12,33016,91429,377
D
+8.0%
13,84111,55228,572
D
+20.5%
16,06710,51027,142
R
−2.3%
11,76712,32824,103
D
+40.0%
16,1206,81223,264
D
+57.6%
18,1104,86722,986
D
+23.7%
15,4679,54225,009
R
−15.0%
9,41912,73822,157
R
−4.3%
10,39511,34021,773
D
+17.1%
10,2407,22517,649
D
+23.9%
11,3616,97718,359
D
+26.5%
11,6016,73018,354
D
+18.1%
9,8436,78416,873
D
+15.1%
8,7096,39715,277
R
−7.1%
6,5277,53414,134
R
−33.1%
2,8716,21310,105
R
−26.1%
3,5206,0919,841
D
+6.7%
3,3662,9336,496
O
+34.0%
2,7695986,376
R
−19.1%
1,8872,8264,918
R
−32.4%
1,3672,8054,438
R
−19.6%
1,9752,9785,117
R
−37.9%
1,5693,5885,324
R
−11.9%
2,1722,7995,260
—
No data
———
—
No data
———
—
No data
———
—
No data
———

Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
18.3%
French
17.0%
Irish
14.7%
German
6.7%
American
5.4%
Italian
4.7%
Scottish
3.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 40.9 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
0.6%
85+
1.3%
2.7%
75–84
3.3%
5.4%
65–74
5.9%
7.0%
55–64
7.1%
6.0%
45–54
6.0%
6.2%
35–44
6.3%
6.2%
25–34
6.1%
4.9%
18–24
4.8%
7.9%
5–17
7.4%
2.6%
<5
2.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$68,035
State Senate District 17 ranks near the middle of US counties.
State Senate District 17$68,035
Maine$74,733
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
14.0%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1823.2%
Working age (18–64)11.5%
Seniors (65+)12.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
90.3%
speak English only
Other Indo-European6.1%
Other languages1.9%
Spanish1.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.7%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Catholic & Orthodox
25.7%
Other Christian
6.1%
Non-Christian
3.3%
Baptist
1.7%
Methodist
1.1%
Mainline Protestant
1.0%
Pentecostal & Holiness
0.9%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 60.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

With a 2024 presidential margin of R+12.9, this sparsely populated district of roughly 39,000 residents sits well to the right of Maine's statewide average, reflecting the rural interior's distinct political geography.

The Democratic margin in Maine 17th State Senate District has rarely exceeded fifty-eight points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded thirty-eight points. 2024 delivered the district to the Republican candidate by six points.

Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most districts. A 88% non-Hispanic-white share, a 14% poverty rate, and a median household income of $68,035 — all within the broad national range.

Compare two places, side by side

Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →

Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
State Senate District 17, Maine. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-upper/23017/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did State Senate District 17, Maine vote in 2024?
In 2024, State Senate District 17, Maine voted Republican by 5.6 points (R+6), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 37,252 votes cast, 17,188 went Democratic and 19,275 went Republican.
What is State Senate District 17, Maine's political archetype?
Akashic classifies State Senate District 17, Maine as a "Bellwether" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 17 times, Republican 16 times, and other 1 times.
When did State Senate District 17, Maine last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which State Senate District 17, Maine voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in State Senate District 17, Maine?
State Senate District 17, Maine has a population of 70,777 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in State Senate District 17, Maine?
Median household income in State Senate District 17, Maine is $68,035 — below the national median of $80,734. The Maine state median is $74,733.
What is the political history of State Senate District 17, Maine?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in State Senate District 17, Maine from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 17 went Democratic and 16 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.