ME: Independents Gaining Traction

[GoldenMainer]

I live near Sanford so I'm interested to see what he's all about. I'm not feeling the moderate label but I do like his military experience and background in renewable energy.

[MAINEiac4434]

I live near Sanford so I'm interested to see what he's all about. I'm not feeling the moderate label but I do like his military experience and background in renewable energy.

I mean, I was fine with Michaud being a moderate running against LePage, but now with the seat open I'm hoping for someone a bit more progressive.

[Figueira]

Poliquin is overrated and I doubt he'd be able to win statewide. He's not even a good fit for the second district. It's more blue collar and he's the typical rich snake oil salesman professional politician who's run for office after office. He's lucky Democrats are incompetent and can't put forward a candidate who's appealing to the district. The last time he ran for governor, he placed sixth out of seven candidates in the Republican primary. Then he lost the Republican primary in 2012 to challenge Angus King. It doesn't seem like his own party even likes him.

As for Collins, I'd love to see her run for governor so we can get someone better in the Senate. I've noticed a lot of people are upset with her for not stopping DeVos from coming out of committee.

Yeah, when Poliquin won what had previously been a solidly Democratic district, people got it into their heads that he must be a super-amazing unbeatable Collins 2.0 candidate, and this feeling somehow remained even when Trump won the district by a bigger margin than Poliquin.

[Horsemask]

Moving back to Maine in May, excited to get caught up on everything.

I doubt Collins actually runs.

[The Other Castro]

Manu Raju‏ @mkraju
Collins, considering a run for gov, tells me she's NOT leaning toward it but will make a decision in summer/fall.

https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/858866555391799296

[TheSaint250]

Manu Raju‏ @mkraju
Collins, considering a run for gov, tells me she's NOT leaning toward it but will make a decision in summer/fall.

https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/858866555391799296

I felt like that was expected.  Never really thought she would go for it

(still optimistic, though)

[MAINEiac4434]

Manu Raju‏ @mkraju
Collins, considering a run for gov, tells me she's NOT leaning toward it but will make a decision in summer/fall.

https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/858866555391799296

And Maine democrats breathe a sigh of relief.

[MAINEiac4434]

Old, but: Cutler endorsed Hayes: https://bangordailynews.com/2017/05/02/politics/eliot-cutler-is-recruiting-independents-to-run-for-the-maine-legislature/?ref=topStories4Thumb

Also:

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Hayes is a union-buster, just like Cutler.

[KingSweden]

Poliquin is overrated and I doubt he'd be able to win statewide. He's not even a good fit for the second district. It's more blue collar and he's the typical rich snake oil salesman professional politician who's run for office after office. He's lucky Democrats are incompetent and can't put forward a candidate who's appealing to the district. The last time he ran for governor, he placed sixth out of seven candidates in the Republican primary. Then he lost the Republican primary in 2012 to challenge Angus King. It doesn't seem like his own party even likes him.

As for Collins, I'd love to see her run for governor so we can get someone better in the Senate. I've noticed a lot of people are upset with her for not stopping DeVos from coming out of committee.

Yeah, when Poliquin won what had previously been a solidly Democratic district, people got it into their heads that he must be a super-amazing unbeatable Collins 2.0 candidate, and this feeling somehow remained even when Trump won the district by a bigger margin than Poliquin.

Running against Emily Cain helped. Troy Jackson would have won

[Horsemask]

Article from the Kennebec Journal detailing Eliot Cutler's impact on Terry Hayes in 2018.

http://www.centralmaine.com/2017/05/14/jim-fossel-maines-third-party-challenges/

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[Horsemask]

The Maine Supreme Court has ruled Ranked Choice Voting conflicts with the Maine Constitution.

Here is a link to the ruling.

http://www.courts.maine.gov/opinions_orders/supreme/lawcourt/2017/17me100.pdf

[#gravelgang #lessiglad]

The Maine Supreme Court has ruled Ranked Choice Voting conflicts with the Maine Constitution.

Here is a link to the ruling.

http://www.courts.maine.gov/opinions_orders/supreme/lawcourt/2017/17me100.pdf

This is a lot of words that boils down to the below:

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Art IV of the Maine Constitution requires elected officials to be elected with a "plurality" of the vote, but the RCVA specifically requires a majority for election. Good reading of the Maine Constitution, even though I am a proponent of RCV. Looks like RCV will need to be implemented by constitutional amendment in states that wish to implement it.

[MAINEiac4434]

They must be doing cartwheels at the MEGOP headquarters.

[Figueira]

Approval voting is better anyway.

[Co-Chair Bagel23]

I hope she runs for governor. If she does, I rate the senate race Tilt D. Otherwise, Likely R.

[Figueira]

I hope she runs for governor. If she does, I rate the senate race Tilt D. Otherwise, Likely R.

The best deal for Democrats would be Collins simply retiring in 2020. That way we get a good shot at the governorship, plus we get Collins in the Senate for two years instead of some LePage appointee.

But we don't know what Collins's thought process is--is she deciding between running for Governor, running for re-election, or retiring altogether, or is she only seriously considering one or two of those things at this point?

[Horsemask]

Maine DHHS Commissioner Mary Mayhew is leaving the LePage administration.

http://bangordailynews.com/2017/05/24/politics/mary-mayhew-to-leave-lepage-administration/

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My guess is that she's starting the groundwork for a run.

[MAINEiac4434]

Maine DHHS Commissioner Mary Mayhew is leaving the LePage administration.

http://bangordailynews.com/2017/05/24/politics/mary-mayhew-to-leave-lepage-administration/

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My guess is that she's starting the groundwork for a run.

This won't be able to get the LePage stench off of her.

[Horsemask]

The "Centrist Project" endorses Terry Hayes, and announces a partnership with the Eliot Cutler driven group Maine Independents.

http://www.centristproject.org/mainerelease?utm_campaign=maineannounce&utm_medium=email&utm_source=centristproject

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[TheSaint250]

The "Centrist Project" endorses Terry Hayes, and announces a partnership with the Eliot Cutler driven group Maine Independents.

http://www.centristproject.org/mainerelease?utm_campaign=maineannounce&utm_medium=email&utm_source=centristproject

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I kinda hope she wins, just for the sake of having another high-level centrist independent. Even though I'm a Republican, I've admired the centrist independent movement.

[Horsemask]

Left-wing activist Betsy Sweet announced a Gubernatorial bid today. She'll be seeking the Democratic nomination.

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http://www.wcsh6.com/news/politics/sweet-parlays-left-wing-activism-into-gubernatorial-bid/444376191

[BuckeyeNut]

If Cutler f***s Maine into more sh*tty Republicans like LePage, so help me God.

[_]

If Cutler f***s Maine into more sh*tty Republicans like LePage, so help me God.

Lepage Jr, thanks to Terry Hayes, backed by Eliot Cutler, sounds good to me.

[MAINEiac4434]

If Cutler f***s Maine into more sh*tty Republicans like LePage, so help me God.

Lepage Jr, thanks to Terry Hayes, backed by Eliot Cutler, sounds good to me.

This state cannot survive another four years of LePage mismanagement, resulting in more young people leaving the state, environmental mismanagement, ignoring the opioid crisis, and the collapse of our public schools.

[MAINEiac4434]

If Cutler f***s Maine into more sh*tty Republicans like LePage, so help me God.

Lepage Jr, thanks to Terry Hayes, backed by Eliot Cutler, sounds good to me.

This state cannot survive another four years of LePage mismanagement, resulting in more young people leaving the state, environmental mismanagement, ignoring the opioid crisis, and the collapse of our public schools.