BREAKING: Former Secular Coalition for America leader wins special election for Maine legislature
Sean Faircloth will return to the Maine House, where he previously served several terms
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Before he became the Executive Director of the Secular Coalition for America (the lobbying group in D.C. representing non-religious Americans), a position he held for two years beginning in 2009, Sean Faircloth was a state legislator from Maine, serving five terms in the House (1992-1994; 2002-2008) and Senate (1994-1996).
He later won a seat on the Bangor City Council from 2014-2017, including a brief stint as mayor, before announcing he was running for governor. (He dropped out a couple of months later citing fundraising woes.)
All of that is to say that, in addition to his other work promoting community and helping Ukrainian refugees, he’s long been a public servant in some capacity.
And tonight, Faircloth won a special election to return to the Maine House of Representatives.
In December, State Rep. Joe Perry vacated his seat after being selected as state treasurer. In January, Faircloth was nominated as the Democratic candidate to replace him. But while Perry won the seat comfortably in 2024 with 65% of the vote, it wasn’t a sure bet that a Democrat could just take his place. You never know how special elections will go due to low voter turnout; plus, it may be too soon to know the impact of Donald Trump’s policies.
But Faircloth kept the seat blue, beating Carolyn Fish, a Republican currently serving on the Bangor City Council. He won with 72% of the vote.
Make no mistake: This is not a meaningless race. Democrats in the State House have a very slim 75-73 majority. (There’s also one independent.) Faircloth’s win will now make it a little easier to pass progressive legislation:
… he mentioned the climate, children’s issues, women’s rights, economic development and affordable housing as pressing matters for Bangor and communities throughout Maine.
“I certainly feel strongly about making sure we have more affordable housing,” Faircloth added. “Whether you look from San Francisco to here, that’s a pervasive issue.”
While religion was fairly irrelevant in this race, that also means there will be one more secular voice in the Maine legislature.
Over a decade ago, Faircloth wrote a prescient book called Attack of the Theocrats: How the Religious Right Harms Us All―and What We Can Do about It (affiliate link), highlighting what we would now call Christian Nationalism. Those subjects didn’t come up in his brief campaign but we’re living in a country where religious nationalism confronts us around every corner. That means state lawmakers will have to make decisions about it.
It’s good to know that, in Maine, those lawmakers will now include one more person with first-hand experience pushing back against wannabe theocrats.
Congratulations to Rep. Faircloth. Every secular voice in government is a plus for church-state separation. Awesome news. Thank you, Maine voters!
Your country needs all voices against religious oppression it can get, even and above all at state and local level.
After the disaster with the last presidential election, I wonder how much of his victory can be attributed to being a Democrat rinning in a blue district and him being a man running against a woman.