Snowe’s retirement leaves Senate Dems with tough decision

[Little Star]

Snowe’s retirement leaves Senate Dems with tough decision
The Hill
By Josh Lederman

Democrats looking to replace retiring Sen. Olympia Snowe (R) in Maine have a delicate decision to make.

If they back independent former Gov. Angus King, who stands the best chance at winning, they risk the appearance of having abandoned their own party's candidates.

But if they support one of the four Democrats competing in the primary, they risk siphoning votes away from King and handing the seat back to Republicans.

Looming over the race is the lingering question about which party King will caucus with if elected to the Senate. King has steadfastly refused to say with which party he’ll cast his lot, a silence that some of his opponents claim deprives voters of the information they need to cast an informed ballot.

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/224401-snows-retirement-leaves-senate-dems-with-tough-decision

Here we go again. Didn't we go through this regarding Charlie Crist in Florida not long ago?

[msongs]

1. how bout running a democrat who stands for something worth voting for? hmm nt

[DCBob]

3. Are none of the D candidates worth voting for??

If so then we should back former Gov Winter to defeat the Repuke.

[WonderGrunion]

6. All the other Democratic candidates on the ballot are practically unknown

outside of their home town. None of them are making any real effort to make themselves known statewide. The Democratic party in Maine has little choice but to back King or give up the chance of taking the seat.

[coalition_unwilling]

2. I know nothing about Angus King (my bad), but he comes across as

something of a douche.

Any Maine DUers want to fill in the picture?

[Little Star]

4. I got this from Wiki for what it's worth...

According to the Portland Press Herald, King, who was a supporter of George W. Bush in 2000 (but endorsed John Kerry in 2004), endorsed Barack Obama in the 2008 Presidential election, stating that the Illinois Democrat "...leads with hope and not through fear."[7] King stated on March 9, 2012, that he believed Obama should be re-elected, stating that he made his decision after "seeing the likely alternatives".[8]

As mentioned above, King had endorsed independent candidate Eliot Cutler in Maine's 2010 gubernatorial election.[9][10] Cutler was narrowly defeated by Republican Paul LePage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angus_King

[WonderGrunion]

5. He is a bit of a douche, but he is very popular among centrists in Maine

So popular that every other Democrat with statewide popularity (Baldacci, Michaud and Pingree) dropped out within a week of him announcing he will run.

[coalition_unwilling]

7. Thanks for that. Is the thinking among Dems with statewide popularity that, if the race

includes King and a Dem, they will split the sane vote, thereby allowing the insane (Repuke) to win?

[WonderGrunion]

8. That's pretty much it. The only Democrats on the ballot now

are the original sacrificial lambs being sent to lose against Snowe.

[GreenPartyVoter]

9. After the fiasco of the last gubernatorial race, most of us are

gunshy about another vote-split. Gov. Baldacci looked into IRV a bit. Wish he could have won over the vote-counters, who were so dead set against it.

[socialist_n_TN]

10. That's what I was thinking too..........

This is a situation that is reminiscent of the governor's race that allowed the Tea Bagger (Page?) to win.

So why did King get into the race as an independent? Was it to split the vote again? IOW, is he a Manchurian (Republican) candidate? Those are questions that I would want to know if I were a Mainer.