During the run-up to the Kavanaugh disaster, Susan Collins got a lot of attention because she was thought to be a possible “No” vote. This included the setup of a crowdfunding account for a Democratic challenger. The crowdfunding account is now at 3 million dollars. Susan Collins disappointed her constituents, to say the least.
There is a long way to go to get to that point, and I wanted to share sort of a primer on Maine politics. Starting off with the geographical fact Maine is the only state in the Lower Fortyeight which borders only one other state. Yes, it gets cold there in wintertime.
I like to keep my diaries brief. So I will mainly point out that we have a major election taking place right now,in 2018. The Governorship is up since Paul LePage is term-limited out, and the US House of Representatives is also on the ballot.
Governor
The Democrat in the Governor’s race is Janet Mills. Here is her campaign website: www.janetmills.com
Here is one of her introductory TV ads:
She is from a prominent and accomplished family in Farmington Maine ( the rural part of the state) and as the Attorney General of the Pine Tree State, she took on a high profile role in supporting a common-sense brake on the destructive agenda of Paul Lepage. Maine is the only state in the USA to elect their AG by ballot of the legislature. Medicaid expansion in Maine has been a marquee issue over the past few years. ( this last video link is really good IMHO. It does give you an idea of Governor LePage, thought to be a likely primary challenger to Susan Collins in 2020).
Here is a recent campaign ad:
The race has attracted money from outside the state. Here is a summary of the funding, written by a columnist from the Portland Press Herald:
Outside groups have raised more than $4 million in the Maine governor’s race so far – almost $2.9 million of it from Democratic backers, according to the latest campaign finance reports filed Friday.
A Better Maine, a Democratic Party-backed political action committee, led the pack, raising $1.7 million in the two-month period between July 18 and Sept. 30 – spending most of it on opposition ads against Republican candidate Shawn Moody.
Attorney General Janet Mills, a Democrat, and Moody, who owns a chain of auto-body repair shops, are seen as front-runners in the four-way race to succeed Gov. Paul LePage, who is termed out of office. Terry Hayes, the state treasurer, and Alan Caron, an economic development consultant, are running as independents.
All of the outside spending so far has been focused on the party-backed candidates.
www.centralmaine.com/…
Second Congressional District
Currently in Republican hands. This is the largest C.D. in terms of land mass, east of the Mississippi. Quite a bit of it is “unorganized territory” — i.e., The Great North Maine Woods.
Here is a taste of Maine-based political analysis by Steve Collins of the Lewiston Sun-Journal, regarding this race:
With a month to go before Election Day, the contenders for Maine’s 2nd District congressional seat are locked in one of the closest races in the country.
Nationally, this election is shaping up to be a tough one for Republican congressional candidates, especially in districts where Democrats have a chance. Polls are indicating an advantage for Democrats, and Republicans have more or less given up on some incumbents seeking re-election where advertising is costly and suburban women are enraged at President Trump and his party’s agenda.
But nobody’s throwing in the towel on U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin, the two-term Republican representing Maine’s 2nd District who faces a solid Democratic challenger along with two independents whose supporters may wind up deciding the outcome because of Maine’s ranked-choice voting process.
“It’s going to be a tight one,” said Karl Trautman, a political science instructor at Central Maine Community College.
Facing Lewiston Democrat Jared Golden, Poliquin “is running scared and probably should be,” said Sandy Maisel, the Goldfarb Family Distinguished Professor of American Government at Colby College.
“If Golden can’t beat him, nobody ever will,” Maisel said. “He’s sort of the perfect candidate.”
Jared Golden
The Democratic candidate to unseat the Republican in the second district is Jared Golden.
Here is Jared Golden’s introductory TV ad from a year ago:
First District
Chellie Pingree is the incumbent. She is a D. Seems to be safe seat. Since I personally lived in CD-2, I don’t have as much background on her to offer.
Susan Rice
Because of a one word tweet, there was some speculation that Susan Rice, the former UN Ambassador, would move to Maine to challenge Susan Collins for US Senate in 2020. Ambassador Rice, it turns out, has a Maine connection, since her mother’s family is from Portland, and relatives own a summer place in Lincolnville. When I first heard of her interest, my reaction was that that she would be viewed as a carpetbagger “from away.” Time will tell.
Summary
obviously, I think Susan Collins needs to go. The sooner the better. Today she makes the first public appearance in Maine since the vote, in my old town ( Norridgewock), and is likely to experience the first protesters since the vote.