PORTLAND, Maine (AP) 鈥 Mainers were smitten by the state's original flag during the 2020 bicentennial. But the retro flag's popularity wasn't enough to convince voters to make it the state's official flag.
Residents voted Tuesday to retain the existing flag 鈥 blue with the state seal 鈥 instead of adopting a flag that tracks closely with the state鈥檚 original flag 鈥 a simple pine tree and blue North Star.
Various designs based on the flag used from 1901 to 1909 gained popularity during the state鈥檚 bicentennial in 2020, appearing on hats, sweatshirts and soon , making it an unofficial flag of sorts.
That played a role in lawmakers鈥 approval of a bill to let Mainers vote on replacing the current flag. The state鈥檚 official seal on the current flag features a lumberjack, a sailor and the state鈥檚 motto, 鈥淒irigo,鈥 Latin for 鈥淚 lead.鈥
Last year, Minnesota adopted a new flag after critics decried the state鈥檚 1858 flag that featured a Native American riding off into the sunset while a white settler plows his field with his rifle leaning on a nearby stump.
There was no such controversy in Maine. The only criticism of Maine鈥檚 current flag was that it's boring, since official state seals on blue backgrounds are featured in more than a dozen other states鈥 flags.
Sagadahoc County sheriff's race
Also in Maine, Sagadahoc County residents have voted to retain their current sheriff over a challenger who was accused of failing to take actions to disarm an Army reservist responsible for killing 18 people in the state鈥檚 deadliest mass shooting.
Sheriff Joel Merry won reelection Tuesday for a fifth term with over Patrol Sgt. Aaron Skolfield.
Both law enforcement officers faced tough questions about the department鈥檚 interactions with Army reservist Robert Card, and both said they didn鈥檛 want their careers to be defined by events before the shooting last year. Skolfield said in a social media post Wednesday that it is 鈥渄ifficult to unseat an incumbent.鈥
