By all accounts, Nathan Cutler was an effective lawyer and legislator, as his frequent returns to the Massachusetts Legislature, and later the Maine House of Representatives, will attest.
And when a governor of the State of Maine died, he was able to step into the role until the term of office expired.
Cutler could have probably remained Governor, but he’d turned down positions before, so it’s entirely possible that he simply chose not to run again.
Listen in, it’s an interesting story.