BREAKING: Mike Michaud has announced that he won’t run for the U.S. Senate this year. A new story will follow.
AUGUSTA, Maine — While three of Maine’s biggest Democratic names wasted little time in taking the first step to run for the U.S. Senate, state Republicans appear to be exercising caution.
Representatives for former two-term Gov. John Baldacci and sitting U.S. House members Chellie Pingree and Mike Michaud all secured petition papers from the Secretary of State’s Office on Wednesday — one day after U.S. Sen Olympia Snowe announced she would not seek a fourth term.
Many top-tier GOP names are being discussed but they have not officially begun gathering signatures as of late Thursday, according to elections officials. Neither have prominent independents such as former Gov. Angus King or Eliot Cutler.
Party candidates only have until March 15 to turn in 2,000 signatures to run for the seat unexpectedly being given up by Snowe.
So what are Republicans waiting for?
“Republicans are more thoughtful in our policies and our politics,” said Brent Littlefield, a GOP strategist and a senior adviser to Gov. Paul LePage.
University of Maine political scientist Mark Brewer said there is more to it than that.
“For the three big-name Democrats, they are all top-tier candidates. There isn’t anyone on the Republican side with that kind of resume,” Brewer said. “I think part of the reason why all three [Democrats] came out early was: they wanted to make it clear to voters and Democratic activists that they were all interested. For the Republicans, I think it makes sense for them to wait a little bit.”
One candidate, Scott D’Amboise, is in the Senate race already but the reality is that other Republicans could be gathering signatures quietly already.
Megan Sanborn, spokeswoman for the Secretary of State’s Office, said Thursday that candidates can request blank petitions or print petitions online and begin gathering signatures. In that instance, the secretary of state would not know the identity of a candidate until signatures are turned in.
“It’s certainly hard for us to know exactly who is gathering signatures at this point and we may not know until March 15,” Sanborn said.
That means the already long list of candidates for Senate, and also for Maine’s two U.S. House seats, could be even longer.
Party candidates for Senate have until March 15 to gather 2,000 valid signatures. House candidates need 1,000 signatures. Independents, however, don’t face the same tight deadline as major party candidates. For an independent to get on the general election ballot, he or she would need to gather 4,000 signatures by June 1.
Maine GOP Chairman Charlie Webster said his party’s leaders are having a lot of discussions about potential candidates but he wasn’t ready to identify anybody just yet.
“My opinion is that it will be a three-way race,” he said. “It will be one of the liberals and I think [former two-term independent Gov. Angus] King will run. That means we need to come to an agreement to bring someone that would be different than those two.”
Webster also said the Maine GOP is interested in more than just the Senate race. He said he expects either Pingree or Michaud to be the Democratic nominee, which would open up one of their House races.
A candidate cannot run for a House seat and Senate seat at the same time in Maine, according to Julie Flynn with the Secretary of State’s Office.
In other words, if Michaud and/or Pingree decide by March 15 to officially enter the Senate race, they would not be able to run for re-election in their House race should either lose in a Senate primary.
The prospect of Pingree, Michaud or both leaving their House seats has opened the floodgates for potential candidates in those districts.
“I’d be stunned if they enter into a primary together. I think one of those three emerges,” Brewer said of the top three Democrats. “I think Michaud’s the strongest. He’s popular in his district and I don’t think his lack of name recognition in the 1st District hurts him because he’s still a Democrat.
“A lot of people think Pingree is the front-runner, but I think she’s the weakest of the three. I can’t see her having an easy time getting support in the 2nd District.
“That puts Baldacci in the middle,” Brewer said. “He has a nice resume and he’s won a lot of campaigns but there are still some lingering negatives from his time as governor.”
Another question that has been posed is whether candidates who were gathering signatures to run for the Senate could use those same signatures to run for the House, or vice versa. Flynn said that’s not allowed.
That means someone such as Maine Senate President Kevin Raye, R-Perry, who has gathered the necessary signatures to run for the House, would have to start from scratch if he’s interested in running for the Senate.
Brewer said a candidate like Raye has more incentive to collect signatures quietly.
“If you’re Raye, you don’t want people to see that you’re doing something strategically,” he said.
The other big unknown is independent candidates, specifically King and Cutler, who finished a close second to Gov. Paul LePage in the 2010 gubernatorial election.
“I think King is stronger than Cutler,” Brewer said. “There are plenty of people who look back fondly on King and have wondered why he didn’t try to do something else.”
Where can i vote for Miss Cain.That would be the best news for Augusta since Lepage.
Mike..too dumb for anything but The House of Reps.
Dumb? You need to change “Michaud” to LePage. Or should I say, LeBuffoon.
First of all, what exactly is on Baldacci’s resume other than abject failure? Second, I would love to see both Pingree & Michaud square off in the primary for the senate especially because they could both lose and we’d be done with them for the time being. Probably just wishful thinking.
If Cain takes the bait, she could be defeated as well. Ides of March are coming!
Best part about a Cain campaign and win would be that we could finally put a fitting (porcine) face to go with pork barrel spending. Worst part would be everything else.
If Cain was to run against Kevin Raye , Deb Plowman or Peter Mills she will lose in a landslide now that Michaud is possibly gone from the 2nd District seat to run for Senate.
Since Michaud is running, Emily Cain will not be running. Not sure why you dislike Cain so much? I know Emily personally, she is one of the nicest people that I know. Very smart, kind-hearted, and extremely intelligent. She has done a great job representing Orono and its progressive traditions.
Right wing nonsense. Baldacci, first of all, runs circles around that utter buffoon LePage who is now disgracing this state with every idiotic word out of his idiotic mouth. Baldacci closed an $800 million biennial shortfall, due to the Republican Great National Recession, without the bullying and drama we get out of LeBuffoon and without raising broadbased fees or taxes. He saved mills and other plants, made us a leader in green energy development, and expanded civil rights. He also worked to streamline government services in various ways. No, he wasn’t perfect, but, very importantly, unlike that fool there now, he also held the tradition of thoughtful moderate leadership for our state and conducted himself in an honorable manner. Now look at what we have. An embarassment to the state actually occpying the Blaine House because the progressive to moderate majority was split. Your comments are utter nonsense.
Can I just point out that a fence post would win in a comparison to LePage. Not trying to belittle what Baldacci did, but just saying.
Revising history sounds like fun! How about erasing the $15 trillion national debt Obama has created while you are at it? And remember LePage never would have happened without Baldacci. That is really who you need to blame here if you don’t like the present governor. Yeah, Baldacci. Best ever. Saved mills and other plants? Huh? Leader in green development? Huh? Expanded civil rights? Right! You sure do know utter nonsense!
LePage won because Cutler ran. Pure and simple. Same thing will happen if he or Angus runs for the Senate.
The National debt was over $11 trillion before President Obama took office. Technically, the USA has carried a National Debt since the Revolutionary War. The only times that the debt has been paid down in any substantial way was under the Jackson and Clinton presidencies.
Tell us how good Dirigo Health was for Maine. How Baldacci tried to borrow $454 Million Dollars to just keep Maine from going bankrupt only to be stopped by Peter Mills. Ask folks who worked in mills and other businesses that closed under Baldacci how they liked his leadership. Ask the Maine Indians Tribes how they loved being treated awfully by Baldacci. Everyone will tell you his leadership stunk. That Maine and its taxpayers are suffering from the failures from all of his screw ups.
Baldacci also lie to get elected the second time and only had 38% of the vote when elected. Like these 61%ers like to cry about LaPage Baldacci had 62% against him.
These folks talk about how great Governors King and Baldacci were. King only got 35% of the vote in 1994 and Baldacci didn’t get 50% either time 47% in 2002 and 38% in 2006. Both left Maine with $1 to $1.5 Billion dollar shortfalls , DHHS in a mess, Both left Maine DOT out of money both having to write IOU’s to the highway fund. They were bad for business as well all know with the huge job losses under both. They treated the Maine Indian Tribes horribly leaving them with bad feelings and anger. So to say LePage is the problem is silly. LePage and Republicans have to clean up the mess of the last 36 years of destruction these folks have caused. These folks think it can be done at the snap of the fingers. It’s going to take 20 to 25 years to just get Maine to the middle of the pack and somewhat good shape it needs to be in. But more of the same for Liberals is foolish.
He usually had a fairly pleasant demeanor when his mom let him work the cash register, not so much when he bussed tables. But eventually he did master both tasks so he’s got that on his resume. Since then he’s been collecting a government paycheck.
Who is running! Who cares, as long as its not a Republican.
I feel the same way about the Democrats!
Rosa Scarcelli! The Democrats best hope!
Corruption, spying and lawsuits…who could ask for a better liberal to run than her?
Wishful thinking. There is no way to collect 2,000 signatures without someone talking. Another miscalculation by Charlie Webster. What will they do if D’Amboise makes the ballot?
“Republicans are more thoughtful in our policies and our politics”
The statement contradicts itself.
What a bunch of opportunists these three and Ole Angus are …… as recent as Tuesday none of them had an inkling of running. Too scared, I guess.
It is very shameful that the “establishment” R’s did not wish to recognize Scott D’Amboise as a viable candidate. He had announced last year and would have been the primary challenger for Olympia, but the aforementioned such as Charlie Webster and others who are likeminded do not want a true conservative, pro-life, pro-traditional family candidate. They want to “continue Olympia’s legacy,” which is to be in lockstep with the Obama administration. Just today she voted to defeat the Blunt amendment which addressed the free contraception issue in Obama-non-care–51-49–so Susan voted for it, because she knew that Olympia was saving her from not voting for it–
The vast majority of thinking Mainers applaud Olympia Snow’s vote on the blunt amendment.
That Susan Collins voted with the Republicans won’t be forgotten by us, either.
They are all zeros…
Angus would be the clear winner if he ran. By far the strongest candidate of the bunch.
no, he’s just the greenest candidate…..
Why is nobody mentioning D’Amboise?
He’s a joke with NO chance at anything!
Here he is, posing with his top advisor:
http://webarchive.loc.gov/lcwa0017/20061027143004/http://www.damboiseforcongress.com/images/Bucksport%20Bay%20Festival/Busta.jpg
~“Republicans are more thoughtful in our policies and our politics,” said
Brent Littlefield, a GOP strategist and a senior adviser to Gov. Paul
LePage.~
Funniest thing I’ve read today….
All of these people just sitting around waiting for someone else to make a decision. All ambitious. Isnt anyone doing any work out there?
We don’t want ambitious people representing us in Washington?
Why would we want ANY of the above for senate… when are we going to be tired of the same old dirty boot on our throat?..
I think this poll is skewed because the majority of voters are from the 2nd district. My $ is on Pingree for a statewide race, but think an independent (Cutler or King, whichever one decides to run) will give her a run for her money.
dragging out the same corporate boot licking hacks from both parties…
Since no Republicans have announced I don’t have a clue about what you are saying.
The least offensive is Baldacci
The most offensive is Michaud
How about none of the above. Neither Baldacci or Mumbles are good for Maine, its people , jobs and business. They are two clueless bumbling buffoons.
There is quite a choice! They’re all Liberal spenders!! Pingree and Baldacci already have a terrible track record. They are wealthy and can run a campaign. I’,m not a big Michaud supporter, but he’s the long shot, as the other two have notoriety. Like voting for Nobama or Joe Biden. I’s rather see one of Foxworthy’s Fifth Graders!!!
Like some scones with your tea?
Remember, Angus King said it himself “I am not a knave”. Nothing to worry about with that guy.
http://www.windtaskforce.org/photo/knavy-buddies?context=latest
Where’s Davy Crockett when ya need him???
I think it should be Michaud. If we end up with another split vote LePage style thing again…ugh.
I wish when BDN does a poll question like this they would add “None of the Above”………..