A new poll has found that 75% of 589 surveyed Mainers favor increasing the federal minimum wage, with broad support from Democrat, Republican and independent voters.
The poll, which also found that 60% of respondents strongly favored a minimum wage increase, was conducted by the University of New Hampshire’s Survey Center and commissioned by the Portland Press Herald. It had a 4% margin of error.
While 93% of Democrats surveyed said they favored a minimum wage increase, 70% of independents and 59% of Republicans said they also favored it.
The city of Portland is currently mulling a proposal to raise the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour that could go into effect by 2015.
At the state level, Republican Gov. Paul LePage has previously vetoed a measure to increase the minimum wage, while his gubernatorial opponents have offered support. Â U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, the Democratic candidate, seeks an increase at the state and federal levels while independent candidate Eliot Cutler only seeks an increase at the federal level.
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