AUGUSTA, Maine — Democratic Congresswoman Chellie Pingree announced Wednesday that she will not enter the U.S. Senate race and instead will focus on getting re-elected to a third term in the U.S. House.
Pingree’s decision comes just two days after independent Angus King, Maine’s governor from 1995-2003, declared that he would run for the seat that will soon be vacated by Olympia Snowe.
“This has been a very difficult decision and I will always be grateful for the tremendous support I’ve received from people all across Maine and around the country. I have been humbled by the enthusiastic encouragement I’ve gotten — from my neighbors here in Maine to my colleagues in Washington,” Pingree said in a statement Wednesday. “There is much at stake in this election and although the prospect of running for and possibly serving in the United States Senate was very exciting, in the end I concluded that I will best serve the people of Maine by running for re-election to the House.”
Since Snowe’s exit and Pingree’s initial announcement that she would gather signatures to enter the Senate race, a number of candidates have expressed interest in Pingree’s 1st District House seat.
It’s likely that most if not all of the Democrats who began gathering signatures last week will drop out with Pingree back in the mix. Among those are Pingree’s daughter Hannah Pingree, the former Maine House Speaker.
On the Republican side, only Patrick Calder had entered the race before Snowe’s announcement. Since, Maine Senate Majority Leader Jonathan Courtney has taken out papers to run in the 1st District.
Pingree likely has a strong chance of beating either of those candidates in the 1st District, which is much more liberal and Democratic than the 2nd. In 2010, she beat Republican Dean Scontras by a 57-43 vote at a time when Republicans won a majority in the Maine State House and the U.S. House.
With Pingree out of the Senate race, King now likely becomes the front-runner because he is poised to attract many Democratic voters.
“This is a personal relief to me because I wasn’t looking forward to running against a friend,” King said in a statement “I am pleased that Chellie will continue her work in Washington on behalf of the people of Maine as she is a dedicated and effective public servant.”
A poll conducted over the weekend by Public Policy Polling showed Pingree with the most support by far among Democratic candidates who have been mentioned as Senate candidates. Former two-term Gov. John Baldacci was a distant second, followed by former Secretary of State Matt Dunlap.
Dunlap, who has been in the Senate race since December, said Snowe’s decision turned him from “a primary front-runner to a footnote in about an hour.”
Pingree’s announcement could again elevate Dunlap, who said he aims to be the Democratic nominee.
“I’ve stayed in the Senate race the whole time. This was never about me just looking for a job,” Dunlap said Wednesday.
Baldacci has not made an official decision but people have been gathering signatures on his behalf.
State Sen. Cynthia Dill of Cape Elizabeth and Benjamin Pollard, a Portland homebuilder, also have been gathering signatures on the Democratic side.
Democrat Jon Hinck of Portland also said Wednesday night that he has decided to return to the Senate race after briefly considering running for Pingree’s seat in the House.
The Republican field in the U.S. Senate is still wide open and could be even after the filing deadline of March 15.
Among those in consideration are: Scott D’Amboise, who planned to run against Snowe in the primary, current Secretary of State Charlie Summers, who ran against Pingree in 2008, state Treasurer Bruce Poliquin, a 2010 gubernatorial candidate in 2010, Attorney General William Schneider, former state Senate President Rick Bennett and Assistant Senate Majority Leader Debra Plowman.
Most of the Republican candidates had little name recognition among the Mainers who were polled.
The PPP poll showed that King (36 percent) had the edge in a hypothetical three-way race against Pingree (31 percent) and Summers (28 percent), the leading GOP candidate.
In an interview with the Huffington Post on Wednesday, Pingree said she worried about her ability to win a three-way race with King and a Republican. She also said she talked to King several times over the last few days but could not persuade him not to run.
Told ya! I wrote this yesterday. Dems will now need a sacrificial lamb to go up against King.
I hope not. Better to leave the slot open because Angus WILL win.
My crystal ball says Baldacci. He’s got a cushy make-work job in the Pentagon, and when he loses he’ll still have it.
How is Baldacci supposed to run for anything with a zippo favorability rating and no restaurant from which to sling free spaghetti suppers? Eh?
Senator King 2012!
He’ll just take one for the team, then go back to his hack position that Obama gave him.
And the Republican hack….?
your right..two losers!
Running is not winning.
Both sides will need a lamb…King will run as an independent and will be courted by both parties. He’ll win w/o any serious competition because neither party will bash him in an election because they will want him to caucus with them when it’s ll over.
AK will win and caucus with the D’s in DC… Who will be the R’s stooge ???
Wow. This has been thoroughly entertaining…
Angus in a walk..
Sad news,,Michaud should have stayed in I think he would have betting all of them! But he was a gentleman and let Chellie have it.. Now all we have is Balbucci who I wont vote for..So it’s King or better yet Matt Dumlap!!!
Sorry, Mike has a less than stellar record as Rep.
Chellie used her head on this one. She is a good woman and could have been badly beaten. We are about to see if a real leader with integrity and backbone can make a difference in the Senate. Personally believe that it will only take one to do it. We will see during the campaigning if he remains above the fray and lives in the solution. That’s what I love about my Cuban friends: They are called resolvers because they see things as opportunities not problems.
Mr Lefty king, is nothing but a Dem in disguise. He wants in so if elected he can push his wind mill crap, and get even more influence, not for Maine but so he can make even more money for himself and his cronies. He will fit right in, in Washingto DC.
It is a side show !!! Dropping out because she knows Angus is going to kick her butt. Cut her loses while she can. Wonder if the “other” Pingree will fall by the way side, I would expect so…
Hannah Pingree cant run now because she was running for her mothers seat!
I’m truly saddened, I thought this was one way to get rid of this scourge of Sussman money once and for all.
There will be another momentous shift this election, however like the last, it will only cause gridlock. I know the difficulties of only one person making a difference in such a convoluted system, however I can think of no one else other than Angus King to respectuflly represent Maine and get things done.
We now just need someone to unseat her from the first district as she does not seem to do anything like Michaud.
Coming down the stretch..it’s Baldacci and Dunlap neck and neck……Sad to see so many clowns getting out of the clown car.
Is there room for Libby Mitchell, Tom Connolly, Tom Allen or Joe Brennan in that car?
No room It is a SMART car. Drive Angus!
Good by Chellie, Goodbye daughter Hannah. Good bye Shanna Bellows. Hello John Baldacci! Baldacci and King can challenge each other for the seat. I dont see the Republican Candidate making much headway in this race.
How about a bet that either Summers or Bennett outpoll Baldacci?
Run, Johnny, run!
Let’s get all excited about a second place Republican! This isn’t horseshoes and close doesn’t count.
If Baldacci runs, I hope he does not win.
Well now Hannah can stop collecting signatures.
Love hearing the right wingers cheering this like it’s a victory…you’ve been played !
Orders from Obama headquarters, thinking that Pingree would keep her House seat, but that they would actually gain another Democrat in “Independent” Angus King. When the going gets tough, the liberals decide to stay in their comfortable position.
Scott D’Amboise is a true conservative, but has been ignored by the media and his own party because of his stands. He had announced his candidacy early on last year, not with the tweety birds who have fluttered to the task now.
Pumpkin, look at the poll. 36% for King, 31% for Pingree — that’s 67% hypothetically wanting a liberal candidate. You can’t keep blaming everyone else, the media, etc. for the fact that far right candidates aren’t popular.
4lifeandfreedom is for minority rule. He was hoping that Chellie would get in so that we could have another 39% LePlague-type wingnut win a three-way race. Instant runoff voting is the only way to run a democracy.
Our country is not a democracy. We’re a republic.
Supposed to be a republic, look again. Our country has been taken over by corporate interests. That is not a republic.
We began as a republic, but have moved towards a democracy, with the 15th, 17th, 19th, 23rd, 24th, and 26th Amendments.
Regardless, we hold popular vote elections for these kinds of races.
Actually, we are a democratic republic, hence the two parties.
Thank you for initiating an intelligent conversation. It’s refreshing.
It doesn’t change the point that was being made in this comment thread. Diverting the conversation to another subject isn’t “initiating an intelligent conversation.”
Actually it is a democratic republic. It is based on rule by popularly elected representatives. That is a democratic republic.
Liberals love European style Parlimentary democracy until it comes to their little comfy world. Multi-party systems are only good in their little Euro-weenie dreams I guess.
You are obviously not being mature in 2012 whatever your moniker suggests about 2007.
As I posted, I prefer instant run-off voting or a formal second round run-off so that any official elected to any post has a majority of the voters behind him. This does not always happen in a European-style Parliamentary democracy or in this country when more than two candidates are on the ballot. David Cameron, in the UK, and Angela Merkel, in Germany, both took power with less than 50% of the voters selecting their party’s candidates. A multi-party system is not what we have in Maine. Cutler ran unaffiliated with any party and there are no third party state senators or representatives. We surely don’t have a parliamentary system anywhere in this country. You are confused.
Politcs is not hockey, we dont need multi rounds of elections, whoever gets the most votes wins!
Egg, politics is not hockey because it doesn’t stop for fistfights and is not a game.
Instant run-off voting is a one round vote. You rank your candidates 1-2-3. If your candidate finishes 3rd, your vote goes to your number 2 choice. Right now, if your candidate finishes third, your vote is trashed.
Even if English is not your native language, I know you can rank any three items in order of preference! Hang in there! We’ll be patient with you.
We dont need EUro style cluster elections. THe non-sense they pulled in Portland for Mayor takes the cake.
I thought they were Ranking UPI top 20 basketball teams, but that is what you get when you put dim witted libtards in a room to come up with communist style election laws.
I guess Chenard your still bitter that LePage won fair and square!
I have never seen a governor’s race with more than five candidates and I guarantee that, if you had someone who could read the candidate’s names to you, even you could rank them 1-5. It would only take you one hand and you could use the other hand to wipe the spittle from your mouth.
Please remember George W. Bush did not win the popular vote against Al Gore – that anachronistic Electoral College put Bush into office and the country down the tubes….
Why dont you move to Greece, they have run off elections every other day, they dissolve their socialist government every week, because they are bankrupt. something tells me you would fit right in. They probably have 20 different socialist and communist parties you can join.
It’s still hard for you with English not being your native language. However, there is no reason to make up the history of Greece when you can read about it.
The socialist leader of Greece resigned last November and was replaced by a decidedly non-socialist technocrat who met the approval of European bankers.
The reason I much prefer living here is that we have control of our own currency, have a President who will allow the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy to expire, and will be re-elected by a decisive margin as the right wing continues to be represented by frothing fools like Gingrich, Santorum, Romney and you.
Your insulting, partisan views and name calling, not to mention the falsehood of your post turns most people off so much, it makes folks want to vote Democrat. Good going. We appreciate your support.
But he is right, dont need any stinking Eurotrash election laws.
What is up with the anti Europe sentiments amongst right wingers, anyway? As if most of their ancestors didn’t also come from there. Is it the scientific method? Fine dining? Incredible architecture? Beautiful music? Painting? Sculpture? Achitecture? Philosophy? Literature? The Age of Enlightenment? What do you find so distasteful about Europe that you need to trash it?
Nah, just the majority wins. Dont need Socialist party election rules.
Egg, it is very good that you are trying to post, since it is obvious that English is not your native language. Majority means more than 50%. Since you want the majority to win, you would support some form of run-off. This has nothing to do with socialism, which is an economic system.
Opposing run-offs or instant run-off voting and being in favor of majority rule is like copulating for virginity. They are mutually exclusive.
Keep trying your hand at English!
Well said.
36 % and 31 % totals 67 %, perhaps your math is questionable.
That puts the ” far right” candidate at 33% , right between the two others. There is no clear winner yet !
Perhaps my math is questionable? It adds up to 67 and that’s exactly what I said. Summers only had 28%. Read the article before you try getting in little digs.
Actually reading a poll before commenting on it is not your strong suit. Summers polled at 28%, with 5% undecided.
LePlague may drive enough people from the Republicans that even breaking 30% this fall will be a stretch.
Oh, too bad so sad. Need some cheese to go with your radical non-reality whine? The TeaNuts will be pounded into oblivion at the Maine voting booth because they are just that: Nuts. Get ready for an intelligent, moderate voice in the Senate in Angus King and say bye bye to the GOP TeaNuts in the State House come November.
King can be beaten.
CAN be, but WON’T be.
Maybe, but I doubt that will happen with the current bunch that have thrown their hat into the ring.
Yes he can be beaten, and when the truth comes out to the people they will elect a Democrat and further the progress the party has made the past three years!
Good!
I’m sad!!! I want her to run.. boo hoo.. now we have John Baldacci and A KING also to be named Repub.
The FIX is in!!!
King takes the Senate seat as a stealth “Independent,” but votes for Harry Reid, caucuses with the Dems and votes with the Dems 98%+ of the time.
The Dems promise NOT to support their party’s official sacrificial lamb/nominee.
Pinhead keeps the 1st District House seat for now, setting up a head-to-head against Susan Collins in 2014.
Hannah Pingree runs for Governor in 2014…
They stick some stooge/puppet (like Cynthia Dill) in the 1st District seat…
And it’s ALL bought and paid for by Donald $u$$man!!!
Welcome to Maine… a wholly-OWNED subsidiary of Paloma Partners, Greenwich, CT!!!
Do you really think the Koch brothers will stand for this???
The Pingrees have more connection to Maine than the Heritage Foundation .
But the Koch brothers billions make the Pingrees and Donald Sussman look like trailer park trash.
You said it, not me.
Pingree: “Who cares about principles, I just want to stay in my nice cushy seat.”
Once upon a time there lived a poor girl in the Kingdom of Minneapolis. She worked very hard for the poor people, making common cause with them.
Then one day, a handsome prince named Donald invited all the beautiful young maidens of the kingdom to a ball. Cinder-pingree went, but had to leave before midnight or she changed back into a just another private person.
When she hurriedly left the ball aboard Prince Donald’s yacht, she forgot one of her glass slippers, the slipper for the left foot, of course.
Prince Donald, seeing that the slipper was for the left foot, went to every house in the kingdom in search of Cinder-pingree.
Finally Donald came to Portland. He knocked on every door, until finally he found Cinder-pingree’s house. Entering, he had her try on the left slipper.
“My, your feet still smell like Minnesota!” Prince Donald exclaimed.
Knowing he had finally found the right woman, they were happily married and flew between Prince Donald’s kingdoms in Maine, Connecticut, and the Bahamas aboard his flying coach, with their new friend Barney, the gay dwarf.
Funny
She really lives in Maine, not Florida, like the dormouse who was turned into the Marquis of Maine at a outta State sponsored Tea Party.
The Pingrees are the 1%.
Well, okay, that might be true, but they are the real thing, with a social conscience about it.
Not wannabes.
Class matters if you are going to make it about class warfare.
Impressive. Most impressive. Obi-Wan has taught you well. You have
controlled your fear. Now, release your anger. Only your hatred can
destroy the Kochs
How exactly is Cynthia Dill a stooge or a puppet? Please back up this assertion with facts.
Ding Dong the Witch is Not gonna run !!!
YIPEE !!!!
Once upon a time there lived a poor girl in the Kingdom of Minneapolis. She worked very hard for the poor people, making common cause with them.
Then one day, a handsome prince named Donald invited all the beautiful young maidens of the kingdom to a ball. Cinder-pingree went, but had to leave before midnight or she changed back into a just another private person.
When she hurriedly left the ball aboard Prince Donald’s yacht, she forgot one of her glass slippers, the slipper for the left foot, of course.
Prince Donald, seeing that the slipper was for the left foot, went to every house in the kingdom in search of Cinder-pingree.
Finally Donald came to Portland. He knocked on every door, until finally he found Cinder-pingree’s house. Entering, he had her try on the left slipper.
“My, your feet still smell like Minnesota!” Prince Donald exclaimed.
Knowing he had finally found the right woman, they were happily married and flew between Prince Donald’s kingdoms in Maine, Connecticut, and the Bahamas aboard his flying coach, with their new friend Barney, the gay dwarf.
Never thought of it in those terms but it sure looks like an accurate assesment.
The orders from the top have come down “your out”.
Load the kids into the camper, “We’re going to Washington.”-Angus King
Why do politicians always feel like they have to decide on the spot?
I thought we all had another week, until March 15, to gather enough signatures for Chellie to decide.
The Petition I was emailed by MPO came framed such that I was in effect agreeing to distribute and organize, when all I am prepared to do, today, is sign my name.
I have a lot of stuff that is equally associated with deadlines to contend with this week.
I think everybody should just slow down.
Not everything is about the 2012 election. Whew!
Pingree makes me sick to be a Democrat
King is completely bought and paid for by the green movement, and is a direct supporter of the Quimby National Park
Baldacci is the worst Governor in Maine’s history
No democrat would write such tripe/crap.
No, they left out Dunlap who, while he probably can’t win a state-wide election, was an honorable Representative and reasonably bright State Official, possibly only behind Dan Gwadosky as a Good Democrat.
I liked Dunlap, he was alright
why dont you venture north and express your love for obama, baldacci, king & pingree,,, you may not like what you hear
No surprise their, now if we can get the rest of the Liberals out. Though that wouldn’t leave any democrats nor King
Why do they call it the 1st district? It should be called the Northern Mass district. there are very few real Mainers down there. Ayuh!
Why doesn’t she go to NH, they like folks like this and treat them like they should.
Smart move, pigree.
It could of been a lot worse if Bad Seed Hannah Pingree got elected.
What do you have against Hannah Pingree, policy wise?
Oh lord, don’t ask them to substantiate their predictions of doom and gloom. You’ll just get a string of random buzz words.
1.Under Hannah’s regime Torture continued at Maine State Prison under DOC Commissioner Magnusson even though it was pointed out at his confirmation hearings he was the understudy for Don Allen who made the front page of the Maine Times for the torture he engaged in with the youth at the Boys Training Center when he was Superintendent of the Facility. Go to the Fogler Library and search Maine Times index for Don Allen Boys Training Center
2. HannahlLeading us past the point of no return with regards to Global Warming and Climate Change while providing zero leadership to turn back the clock. see http://www.heatisonline.org
3. allowing Maine Law Enforcement at the local, county and state level to continue to do business
with the FBI when it has been established in a court of law beyond a reasonable doubt FBI agents assassinated Martin Luther King see http://www.lewrockwell.com/spl2/mlk-conspiracy-exposed.html
4.Doing absolutely nothing when Hannah was apprised Maine’s Electronic Voting machines were at risk especially in light of the recent Presidential election and the evidence presented to Hannah that FBI agents were caught in Cincinnati re-programming the electronic voting machine software.
see http://www.thelandesreport.com/Donsanto.htm
5. Hannah did absolutely nothing regarding the problems with Maine law enforcement and driving while female even though arrangements were made to bring Mary Powers to speak at Bates College . Powers heads up the National Coalition on Police Accountability NCOPA.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/20/us/20cncburge.html?pagewanted=all
6. Hannah refused to look at documentary evidence that the FBI and other Federal agencies created
the 1993 1st World Trade center bombing, Oklahoma City bombing and 911. see
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgUFkVG_78g
sorta like the mom, eh?
You have some good facts here. Thanks for coming with some actual substantiation.
1.) This sounds like an outrage to me, but what have her public statements and actions been to this end?
2.) Global warming? Haven’t you heard? It is proven to be man made, preventable and detrimental to the health of the planet’s inhabitants.
3.) I am not into conspiracy theory as regarding the FBI, Janet Reno, Roswell, the X Files, ATF, the Bilderbergs, One World Government, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, or such. I don’t see black helicopters in the sky nor do I wear a tinfoil hat. Art Bell is entertainment, it’s not real. I guess you missed the memo.
4.) I do think that the evidence for voting machine shenanigans is strong. She should be on it like any good self respecting liberal. Why isn’t she?
5.) No comment. I don’t know jack about this one to be honest.
6.) Now you’re talkin crazy again. Goodbye.
Does any of the this really matter? End result, Partisan Politics, no hope for any real representation in Washington. Liberals still far left, Conservatives still far right, people still struggling, still unemployed, still old and poor, and children still hungry. Dems cant create jobs, Republicans cant take care of the truly needy for fear of the unscrupulous, and Independent is just another word for I dont really stand for anything but what is good for me at this time.
“Liberals still far left…”? Really? Can you name any “far left” politicians anywhere in this country today except for maybe Bernie Sanders? What is your definition of “far left”?
Gosh, there’s not enough space on these pages to list them: Madam Pelosi, Charlie Rangle, Stennie Hoyer, Barney Frank (until now), Dennis Kucenich (sp sorry), Chris Dodd, Barry Obama, Maxine Waters, most of the Black and Latino Congressional Caucuses, 100% of the Progressive Caucus… Sorry, my typing fingers went numb from all the names.
So if they’re not grumpy old white Christian men, they’re far left?
If I remember correctly, Stennie Hoyer is definitely grumpy, old and white–does anyone know if he is a Christian? If so he can join the not-so-far-left.
I’m a grumpy old white male christian – and a far left socialist – stop being stereotypic and racist folks; it isn’t in the interest of the people to attack others based on sex and religion in order to promote our agenda – in other words – don’t stoop to their level…..
Good luck with that.
If you dont have to use truth or logic in an argument, and still feel you’ve won, then you are probably far left.
Pretty funny, but patently false.
Very unflattering picture of Ms Poloma Partner. The Donald would not approve.
Per her not running, George Sorros has given the marching orders, let lefty Charlaton King have the seat.
Thank you, Chellie.
Judging from the flabbergabbering in response to this article, one might think that except for a few rational citizens, the Maine Second District doesn’t need a representative – it needs Nurse Ratchet.
Can we please stop with the adjectival “front-runner” attached to King’s name? A poll taken the day after he announces his candidacy means nothing. The hypothetical candidates he was up against aren’t even running, in one case, or haven’t been elected in the Republican case. We are a long way from election day.
And you know what, folks? Nobody is paying attention to this stuff except for us wingnut posters here on the BDN. I’m out collecting signatures for Sen. Plowman—and nobody has a clue about who is running for Snowe’s seat. Most people don’t even know Snowe is not running again. They don’t announce that on Survivor, I guess.
There is no front runner here. There are just candidates.
Once upon a time there lived a poor girl in the Kingdom of Minneapolis. She worked very hard for the poor people, making common cause with them.
Then one day, a handsome prince named Donald invited all the beautiful young maidens of the kingdom to a ball. Cinder-pingree went, but had to leave before midnight or she changed back into a just another private person.
When she hurriedly left the ball aboard Prince Donald’s yacht, she forgot one of her glass slippers, the slipper for the left foot, of course.
Prince Donald, seeing that the slipper was for the left foot, went to every house in the kingdom in search of Cinder-pingree.
Finally Donald came to Portland. He knocked on every door, until finally he found Cinder-pingree’s house. Entering, he had her try on the left slipper.
“My, your feet still smell like Minnesota!” Prince Donald exclaimed.
Knowing he had finally found the right woman, they were happily married and flew between Prince Donald’s kingdoms in Maine, Connecticut, and the Bahamas aboard his flying coach, with their new friend Barney, the gay dwarf.
I have heard that she and her daughter emit a foul smell , it alsolingers in their seats after they are gone
I’m heart-broken, we need a strong Democrat to continue the progress that has been made by the Democratic Party the past three years, King is simply too far to the right – I’ll vote the Democratic Party offering.
A profile in political cowardice. Chellie is the antithesis of the calibur of leadership we need in DC. She is a spend-and-tax class warrior of the first degree. We must either shrink government or fade away. No other choices exist.
Why do I get this sense of dread? We had a gubernatorial election with an independent in the mix and ended up with Governor LePage who earned less than 40% of the vote. And it’s a mess. Now we have Angus King running for the Senate; so who will get elected? Charlie Summers? I haven’t met very many of our high political operatives, but I have met Charlie, and he just doesn’t seem to be quite up to being a U.S. Senator.
Let’s see. I just read Charlie Summers’ bio (ain’t Google great!)
He served under Sen. Snowe for years, ran the New England branch of the SBA for years, served as Maine Senator, and now is Secretary of State. Oh, and he has years of service in the Navy, including working directly under Admiral Mullen, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff during a time when this country is fighting two wars.
Yeah, he should be sweeping floors : )