Item 23286info Aroostook County Historical and Art Museum
By 1923, the Klan reported a statewide membership of 20,000.
Politically, the Klan backed Portland State Senator Ralph O. Brewster as the Republican nominee for the 1924 gubernatorial election at a time when the state Republican organization endorsed Frank G. Farrington.
Brewster won the nomination and the governor’s seat, and repeated his victory in 1926.
In November 1922, Governor Percival Baxter had called the Klan "an insult and an affront to American citizens" and predicted it would never be popular in Maine.
Brewster's support of the Klan helped its reputation.
