Green Candidate's Entry Pushes Maine Toward Ranked-Choice US Senate Race In 2020
AUGUSTA, Maine — A Green candidate from Waldo County is expected to announce his 2020 candidacy for U.S. Senate this week, increasing the likelihood that the nationally targeted race for the seat held by Republican Susan Collins will be decided by ranked-choice voting.
The Maine Green Independent Party said in a Tuesday statement that David Gibson of Morrill will announce his candidacy at a national party meeting in Massachusetts on Friday. Gibson works as a solar design specialist for Liberty-based ReVision Energy and his campaign website includes goals of 100 percent clean energy by 2030 and halving the U.S. defense budget.
It’s unclear if Gibson will be able to get on the ballot in 2020. The Maine Green party dates back to 1984, making it the oldest one in the U.S., but it has receded during this decade and hasn’t nominated a candidate for statewide office since Pat LaMarche in the 2006 gubernatorial race.
To get on the ballot for Maine’s June primaries, party candidates must submit at least 2,000 signatures from members of their party by mid-March of 2020, which requires a basic level of organization because they can’t begin collecting those signatures until January 1.
Read more: https://www.mainepublic.org/post/green-candidate-s-entry-pushes-maine-toward-ranked-choice-us-senate-race-2020