ME-Gov: Notorious GOP Gov. Paul LePage is mercifully termed-out, and both parties have large primary fields to replace him. However, the state's new, and perhaps only temporary, instant-runoff voting (IRV) system introduces some extra unpredictability to the June races. Voters will be allowed to rank their choices, and if no candidate takes a majority initially, the last-place candidate gets eliminated and has their votes reassigned to their voters' next preferences. However, June may be the only time Maine votes this way, at least for a while.
The backstory is long, so here is what you need to know about what's happening in June. The state legislature passed a law that effectively repealed a voter-approved IRV law last year, but IRV proponents successfully put a measure on the June primary ballot to undo the legislature's law. The new ballot measure freezes the legislature's law, so the primaries will be conducted using instant-runoff voting. If voters in June decide to approve the repeal law, then it will once again take only a simple plurality of the vote to win office in November. And if voters vote against repeal… things could get really complicated in November.
Now, to the actual candidates. On the Democratic side, seven candidates are in. The three main contenders are arguably State Attorney General Janet Mills, attorney and renewable energy entrepreneur Adam Cote, and former state House Speaker Mark Eves.
Mills may have the most name recognition, though she's never run statewide before: In Maine, the attorney general is appointed by the legislature rather than elected, and Mills has served continuously since early 2013. Mills also has the backing of EMILY's List. However, the attorney general has drawn the ire of some progressive groups, including the state Conservation Voters and ACLU, over what they consider to be her opposition to local Native American fishing rights.
Cote had the largest war chest of any of the Democrats at the end of 2017. Cote, who earned a Bronze Star in 2014 for his service with the Maine National Guard in Afghanistan, has only run for office once before. Cote lost a 2008 bid for the U.S. House to eventual winner Chellie Pingree 44-28, but he reportedly impressed party leaders in defeat.
Eves was in the news quite a bit in 2015. Back then, LePage threatened to cut off funding for a charter school if it didn't withdraw its job offer to Eves to serve as its president; legislators discussed impeachment, but it never happened. Eves filed a civil suit against LePage, but a judge dismissed it.
A few other contenders are also seeking the Democratic nod, and given how unpredictable this race is, we can hardly rule out any of them winning it. State Sen. Mark Dion also served as sheriff of Cumberland, the largest county in the state, until 2010. Betsy Sweet has been a lobbyist for progressive caucuses, and she's trying to qualify for state public financing. Former state Rep. Diane Russell and former Biddeford Mayor Donna Dion are also in.
Five Republicans are running. LePage hasn't publicly taken sides in the primary but some of his allies, including his daughter, are backing businessman Shawn Moody. Moody ran for governor in 2010 as an independent and took fourth place with 5 percent of the vote; afterwards, the governor himself appointed his former rival to serve as a trustee for both the University of Maine System and Maine Community College System. Moody has done some considerable self-funding, and he had by far the most money of any of the candidates at the end of December.
Former state Health Commissioner Mary Mayhew is also a LePage ally. During her time in office, Democrats have criticized Mayhew for pushing for cuts to vital programs, and they blamed her after the Riverview Psychiatric Center lost federal certification. Mayhew's fellow Republicans unsurprisingly see her in a much more favorable light.
State House Minority Leader Ken Fredette has been a loud LePage defender, but his fundraising has been particularly bad. State Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason is close to the state's conservative Evangelical political network, and he was a prominent supporter of Ted Cruz during the GOP primary caucus, which Cruz decisively won. Mason has qualified for public financing.
The one Republican running who is on the outs with LePage is state Senate President Mike Thibodeau. While the two used to be allies, the two came into conflict in a budget fight last year, and LePage hasn't hidden how much he hates him. Back in January, LePage said that, while he wouldn't endorse anyone in the primary, he would oppose Thibodeau.
And what would a Maine race be without some independents? There are just too many third-party and non-aligned candidates to name, but there are two in particular worth keeping an eye on. Businessman Alan Caron has already done some considerable self-funding, and he seems to be pitching himself as a left-leaning contender.
State Treasurer Terry Hayes was a Democrat when she was in the legislature, but she had a falling out with the party in 2012 when the caucus picked Eves to serve as speaker instead of her. In 2014 and 2016, she successfully secured enough support from Republicans and a few Democrats in the legislature (the treasurer, like the attorney general, is appointed) to beat the Democratic candidate.