Angus King eases to re-election win over young challengers
Source: Bangor Daily News
BANGOR, Maine — Independent U.S. Sen. Angus King of Maine cruised to a majority win for a second term over two young challengers Tuesday in what was the fourth and likely final statewide election for the former two-term governor.
King, 74, of Brunswick was heavily favored to win against state Sen. Eric Brakey, R-Auburn, a libertarian with national Republican connections, and Democrat Zak Ringelstein of Yarmouth, an educator and political newcomer who ran uphill at King from the left.
King has polled as the most popular politician in Maine, but he has frustrated Republicans who see his independence as a shtick. When he first ran for governor in 1994, he renounced the Democratic Party to which he once belonged, but he caucused with Democrats when he got to the Senate after winning a 2012 race to replace retiring Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe.
With 39 percent of precincts reporting, King had 53.7 percent of votes to Brakey’s 35.9 percent and Ringelstein’s 10.4 percent. The Bangor Daily News and Decision Desk HQ projected King as the majority winner in the ranked-choice voting race at 11:45 p.m. on Tuesday.
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Read more: https://bangordailynews.com/2018/11/06/politics/angus-king-eases-to-re-election-win-over-young-challengers/