Barbara Merrill

Barbara Merrill
Personal details
Born	Barbara E. Butler 1957 (age 59–60) Frankfurt, Germany
Political party	Democratic (Before 2006) Independent (2006–present)
Spouse(s)	Phil Merrill
Children	2
Alma mater	University of Maine, Orono University of Maine, Portland

Barbara E. Merrill (born 1957 in Frankfurt, Germany) is an American politician from Maine. Elected as a Democrat to the state legislature, she left the party in 2006 to become an independent candidate for Governor of Maine.

Merrill lost to Democratic incumbent John Baldacci who was elected to a second term. She finished in third-place receiving 118,715 votes, or about 21% of all votes cast.

Merrill furthered her legal career by working for the Maine law firm Verrill Dana before opening her own legal practice with husband, Phil Merrill.

Merrill was born as Barbara Butler in a U.S. Army hospital in Frankfurt, Germany in 1957. Her father, Charles Butler, was a West Point graduate who served in the Korean War, rose to the rank of Lt. Colonel, and was killed in Vietnam when Merrill was a freshman in high school.

Growing up, she lived in Mississippi, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia and Brazil. Her family moved to Maine in time for her to attend Waterville High School and the University of Maine, where she earned a law degree. After working for the law firm of Verrill Dana, she opened her own practice with her husband, Phil Merrill. With Philip, she has two children: Nicholas, age 22, and Jacqueline, age 20. In her practice, she became a lobbyist, working mainly for non-profit organizations, before the state legislature.

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