BRUNSWICK, Maine — Former Gov. Angus King said Wednesday he’s considering running for the U.S. Senate, filling a void left by Republican U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, who announced Tuesday she’s not running for re-election in November.
“Yes, I’m considering it,” King said. “I haven’t decided. I’m talking to people, fielding emails and calls, giving it serious consideration, because the very reason why Olympia left office is why I think we need a different approach.”
Snowe, who is a Republican moderate, said she’s leaving office because she’s weary of the polarization in Congress, and finds “it frustrating … that an atmosphere of polarization and ‘my way or the highway’ has become pervasive in campaigns and in our governing institutions.”
King said he’d try to build a nonpartisan approach in the Senate, an atmosphere of “let’s solve the problems and quit yelling at each other. I think the public wants the schools fixed, Medicare fixed,” King said. “I don’t think they care about the label of the person trying to fix them.”
Snowe’s abrupt departure will make it hard for Democrats and Republicans to collect signatures by the March 15 deadline to get on the ballot.
Not so much for King. As an independent, he has until June to collect 4,000 signatures to get on November’s ballot. “It’s one of the only times in world history that the rules” benefit an independent, King said.
King cautioned that his mind is not made up. “It is not an easy decision. It’s a huge commitment, and not one I was contemplating. I’m just trying to understand the consequences.” But he said he thinks more reasoned voices in Washington could help.
The “broken nature of our political system is a serious problem,” King said. “It’s driving me to consider it.”
King was popular governor who enjoyed high ratings.
Peter Mills, a former Republican gubernatorial candidate who now heads the Maine Turnpike Authority, said one big challenge “for both of the parties is to nominate someone who can beat Angus King.”
“His name recognition is strong,” Mills said. “On the other hand, both national parties will be committing huge sums to capture the seat.”
See more stories from the Lewiston Sun Journal.
If King and Cutler run as Independents as they claim they are it could be the most interesting election in decades with at least four candidates on the ballot. But who thinks they are really independent?
It tells of their character…..
Yes, please!
Nope – he is too “windy” for me. His vision of American is a chain of noisy, flickery windmills on every mountain.
God forbid us looking for alternative energy sources, as the US exports record amounts of oil and all of us going to the poor house because of high energy costs, and the oil men keep getting richer and richer…especially up here in Maine where we’re paying some of the highest prices in the nation.
Drill baby drill just so they can export more and make more money.
Millicent, please explain to me how windmills or solar panels get us off oil? Less than 1% of US electrcity is produced from using oil and those are “peaking” units. Windmills and solar energy sources “could” be viable options in the distant future when we develop the technology to store and dispatch electrcity. But until then, they are egregiously expensive and inefficient. Natural gas deployment is a better near term solution for both transportation and home heating. AK is one of those “big thinkers” who believe we need to make our economy dependent on expensive energy before we can turn it around. Many others believe we should turn our economy around first and use alternative energy as it becomes price competitive without taxpayer subsidies. I am in the latter group.
Where did I say that windmills would get us off of oil?
What other industrial scale alternative energy sources are there?
That’s why we need to at the very least research and try other options. If we don’t experiment with other options we will never know if they will work or not.
Solar panels for the house $40k, a wind mill to run the whole house $60k, I can buy a lot of oil for that I would never get my investment back at like $120 a month electric bill. I would go to solar power if I could afford it, or wind, live on a hill, and have almost 100′ of southern exposed roof for solar. Just bought a car the other day gets 40mph 11k, the hybrid 40mpg car was starting at 27K, 40mpg is 40mpg, 16k is going to put a lot of gas in the standard car.
Yes we are exporting way too much oil and gas, which proves the oil companies are screwing us, it goes against the so called supply and demand thing, demand is low supply is high.
So where is congress on this, ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ, as usual, they could impose an export tax high enough to stop or slow down this gas/oil export, and investigate why we have so much supply and the price is still to high.
The price is high because investment groups buy up the oil reserves and hold them to keep the price up. Congress knows this, they’ve considered limiting the amount of the market that any one group can control to less than 25% (I think it stands currently). But they didn’t because big money runs Washington. Surprise, surprise.
Great.
“Free” wind power from this blowhard.
“Who let the dogs out?”
Obviously, Olympia did ……. this mutt is just another opportunist.
{“I don’t think they care about the label of the person trying to fix them.”}
We DO care about those who are trying to fix things that arent broken, and breaking things to get their fix!
Angus might be a good Senator if he’d free himself from the “energy leeches” and learned to be more frugal with other people’s money.
Someone in the Govt be frugal with other peoples money, Hell just froze over
I personally think Angus King is just what we need,we dont need a right wing nutjob,this is Maine where life is hard but life is good!!!
Run Angus Run!
Let’s remember back when Mr. King was elected governor and his inaugural speech slogan,
“Maine Is On The Move”. Where did the state move to during his tenure? downhill. This
guy ain’t right for the state.
Former governors should not even think about running for the U.S. Senate. Too much baggage. And I’m a democrat!
Money came out of YOUR POCKET ,and is continuing, to pay all this for WALMART, approved by Governor King in 2002
“● 61 acres of land – assessed at $3,000,600 – given to Wal-Mart, no charge
● relocation and expension of sewer lines, $1 million
● a new sand and gravel pit for $ 940,000
● a new shed for sand and gravel, $800,000
● a commercial subdivision plan, $45,000
● water and sewer fee reimbursements, $18,300
● property tax reimbursements, $5.8 million
The total came to nearly $9 million from the city…Add to that another $8.4 million…from
the state:
● A “Business Equipment Tax Reimbursement” program that will reimburse
Wal-Mart over 12 years as much as $7.8 million on all personal property
taxes.
● $1.5 million for road relocations
● $180,000 in training money
● $348,750 in rebated
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=walmart%20lewiston%20angus%20king&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CEMQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fc-r-a-w.org%2FPDFs%2FCorporate%2520Welfare%2520Abuse.pdf&ei=OHpPT_2ROIrs0gHD8937DQ&usg=AFQjCNGQ3U9afEhbYLoKUS7U_nk7DLspIw&cad=rja
Umm, all businesses get that. It’s called the Pine Tree Zone and like 90% of Maine is in it. Blame your local reps.
Just what this small, poor state doesnt need.
An Independent Semator with no party to stand with.
Dislike by both Repubs. and Dems. and no power.
Cutler this goes for you too.
I’d only vote for Rep Michaud. Baldacchi and Pengree should step aside and let the most Senior member of our delegation run. He has proven he can win in a conservative district. Pengree could never win in his District in a Statewide election and what did Baldacchi really do for us. He was no friend to Labor.
Michaud will ensure you remain a slave to china
Umm, what about Cutler? that’s his whole spiel–courting Chinese businesses to buy goods from Maine and send their kids to school, here.
Michaud..too dumb for anything but work as a Congressman.
Angus King has all the answers. He found them after he was governor.
Angus! Angus! Angus! I supported him as Governor, I’d support him in the Senate.
Yeah, feeling the winds of positive change a’comin’……
You have my vote Angus.
There are a lot of them in that little car, aren’t there!
I might be inclined to vote for Angus, but first I’d want to know who has been lining his pockets since he left office.
Can’t steal enough from the taxpayers at First Wind.
Hopefully, just the possibility of Angus running will scare off some of the Riff Raff…
what a joke
How are we going to send an independent to Washington – especially one that lacks any political experience in Washington – and expect him to build bridges between the bipartisan politics? An Independent to Washington to break the bipartisan politics reads well at first glance, but I’m confident that Angus would be left on the outside looking in on Congressional politics.
MAINE can’t afford that. Baldacci’s my guy. He’s experienced, level-headed, and down-to-earth. He can be a moderate deal maker in the Senate.
How do I go about telling Angus King that an independent US Senator would make Maine the swing vote on matters on world importance? Or, that if he ran for Senate I would come out of this shell and support him? How do I tell Him?