Maine* (John Baldacci - D) The ME GOP is not exactly the epitome of a well-run organization and you have all those weird Maine independents running around causing trouble. So, I have to give Dems the advantage. Tom Allen, I guess (although his performance against Collins was worse than pathetic). I defer to Kevinstat here.
Why thank you. Thank you also for being the first person on this thread to recognize that Maine will hold a Gubernatorial election in 2010. Tom Allen has, from what I've heard from my parents and a person I work with (I don't watch the local news all the time, or the national news for that matter; I get most of my information on current events online), unequivically stated that he will not run for Governor in 2010 (he may have said for any office in 2010, but there's no other top-ticket elective office in Maine he could run for that's up that year and isn't held by another Democrat who will surely run again), and he has said it is highly unlikely that he will ever run for public office again.
Ex- (by four days) Attorney General Steven Rowe (D) has basically announced besides the speech and pom poms. Ex-State House Speaker John Richardson (D) is also expected to run, although he's been more coy about it than Rowe. There are lots of other people who are likely to run and at least one candidate who has already announced (and two according to
Politics1.com, but I don't have the mental energy right now to list them all and comment on the likelyhood of their running and their chances should they run. Still, ...
Maine: John Baldacci (D) is term limited
Leans Democrat.
sounds about right, although I'd say "Likely Not Republican" as I could see an Independent winning (although I don't expect it to happen or even think its as likely as a Republican winning) and with that probability added to the probability in my mind of a Democrat being elected, it seems to warrant a Likely rating rather than a Leans rating. I probably would just say "Likely Democrat" but no individual Democrat seems strong enough now for me to say that. Not that Rowe, Richardson and Ex-House Speaker Glenn Cummings who has also been speculated as a candidate are lightweights, but none of them have the aura of dominance that Baldacci seemed to have in 2001, and even he only won in 2002 by 5.7%.
Illinois (likely open seat held by a placeholder after Rod Blagojevich gets removed from office - D)
I corrected that, although I'm not certain about the placeholder part like I am about the part about Rod Blogojevich not being Governor in 2010.
