I still don't understand Cruz winning the Maine Republican Caucus in 2016. The northeast was otherwise a poor region for him.
Maine having a caucus instead of a primary might have been a factor.
Interestingly, Maine was also the only New England state that backed Bush over McCain in 2000.
I know that Trump did worse in caucus states due to relying on voters who were not traditionally GOP. It just seems like Kasich would have been the non-Trump candidate who would have prevailed, or Maine would have voted like Massachusetts. I'm not sure why Maine Republicans would be significantly more conservative than Republicans in other New England states. The Bush/McCain vote indicates they randomly show tendencies of Republicans in the Western United States.
Isn't Maine close to the country Cruz was born?