Elections

 
Sen. Olympia Snowe waves goodbye at the end of a press conference in Portland in March 2012.

Olympia’s List makes its first campaign donation — to Maine Sen. Susan Collins

By Scott Thistle on May 10, 2013, at 2:15 p.m.
AUGUSTA, Maine — Former U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, announced on Facebook on Friday her political action committee, Olympia’s List, would be donating to the re-election campaign of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. In the post Snowe writes the contribution is the Olympia’s List’s first “major gift of the 2014 ...

Obama’s campaign finance reform plans fade

By Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post on April 29, 2013, at 10:21 p.m.
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s once-broad ambitions to clamp down on the influence of special interests have been largely abandoned since his reelection, dismaying longtime allies in the campaign-finance reform movement. The predicament will be on full display Tuesday, when all five members of the Federal Election Commission will be ...
Chellie Pingree

Chellie Pingree won’t run for governor in 2014

By Robert Long on April 26, 2013, at 4:21 p.m.
AUGUSTA, Maine — U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat who represents Maine’s 1st District, will not run for governor in 2014. Andrew Colvin, Pingree’s deputy communications director, confirmed Friday afternoon that Pingree has decided against a gubernatorial run. “After considering the decision carefully over the last few months, I have ...

Maine high court again hears Nader lawsuit alleging obstruction of ’04 presidential candidacy

By Judy Harrison on April 10, 2013, at 2:15 p.m.
PORTLAND, Maine — Ralph Nader and the Maine Democratic Party on Wednesday afternoon took their nearly decade-old fight to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court for a second time. “This case represents the latest front in a retributive war waged by a losing candidate against a rival campaign, eight years after ...
Gov. Paul LePage addresses members of the media and the public at Roopers Beverage and Redemption on Main Street in Auburn recently about his plan to use the revenue from the state's liquor business to pay back $484 million the state owes to 39 Maine hospitals.

LePage vulnerable in 2014, says top political observer

BDN staff reports on April 08, 2013, at 5:01 p.m.
BANGOR, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage is among the most vulnerable governors who are up for re-election in 2014, according to a well-known New York Times political blog. Thirty-two governors are up for re-election in 2014. Of them, LePage ranks sixth for his net job disapproval rating — the difference ...
POLL QUESTION
Eliot Cutler

Poll: Cutler would lead LePage in 2014 governor’s race — if he ran as a Democrat

By Robert Long on April 03, 2013, at 9:59 a.m.
AUGUSTA, Maine — If independent Eliot Cutler ran for governor as a Democrat in 2014, he would lead incumbent Republican Gov. Paul LePage by almost eight percentage points, according to a poll released Wednesday. The Pan Atlantic SMS Group survey of 403 Maine residents, conducted by veteran Portland pollster Patrick ...
John Baldacci

Baldacci tells Politico that he’s still open to run for governor — if Pingree or Michaud don’t

By Robert Long on March 20, 2013, at 3:03 p.m.
AUGUSTA, Maine — Former Gov. John Baldacci would rather see one of Maine’s two U.S. representatives, Democrats Chellie Pingree and Mike Michaud, challenge Republican Gov. Paul LePage in 2014. But if they don’t, he probably will, according to a story posted Wednesday by Politico. Late last year, Baldacci’s name surfaced ...
Angus King

Angus King won seat raising less than $3 million — least in 2012 U.S. Senate race

By Robert Long on March 13, 2013, at 10:15 a.m.
AUGUSTA, Maine — Angus King raised less than any other candidate who won a U.S. Senate race in 2012. The independent former governor raised less than 30 percent of the average cost of a 2012 Senate race. The 33 senators who won elections in November raised, on average, $10.5 million, ...

Portland activist takes first step toward putting abortion consent measure on ballot

By Matthew Stone on March 12, 2013, at 7:09 p.m.
AUGUSTA, Maine — A Portland man who directed a political action committee opposing last year’s successful same-sex marriage ballot measure has filed initial paperwork with the secretary of state’s office that would allow him to start collecting signatures to force a statewide vote on a proposal to require parental consent ...
Joseph Baldacci

Bangor Councilor Joe Baldacci expresses interest in Mike Michaud’s congressional seat

By Nick McCrea on March 07, 2013, at 5:46 p.m.
BANGOR, Maine — There’s a chance two Baldaccis will make bids for public office in 2014. Joe Baldacci, brother of former Gov. John Baldacci, said Thursday that he is “definitely interested” in replacing 2nd District U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud if he decides to run for governor next year. “I have ...
Sen. Emily Cain, D-Orono

Sen. Emily Cain ‘more serious than ever’ about bid for Congress if Michaud runs for governor

By Christopher Cousins on March 05, 2013, at 12:29 p.m.
AUGUSTA, Maine — It’s no secret that Sen. Emily Cain has had her eye on a congressional seat for at least a year, but the Orono Democrat said Tuesday that she is “more serious than ever” about a potential 2014 run for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District in light of U.S. ...
US. Rep. Mike Michaud answers questions during the Bangor Region  Chamber of Commerce debate in Bangor on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012.

Michaud ‘looking at’ run for governor

By Robert Long on March 04, 2013, at 5:37 p.m.
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, a Democrat who represents Maine’s 2nd District, is “looking at” a 2014 run for governor. Michaud, who has yet to file as a candidate, told Politico on Monday that he hasn’t set a timeline for making the decision about whether to run in a ...

Feds: Maine GOP improperly reported finances

By Bill Trotter on March 01, 2013, at 6:49 p.m.
ELLSWORTH, Maine — The Federal Election Commission has determined that the Maine Republican Party misstated its financial activity, improperly disclosed debts and obligations, and failed or improperly disclosed expenditures from 2007 through 2008. The amount of money involved in the party’s insufficient reporting is more than $700,000, according to a ...

Early voting backers seek statewide vote to amend Maine Constitution

By Robert Long on Feb. 20, 2013, at 6:20 p.m.
AUGUSTA, Maine — It will take a state constitutional amendment to allow Mainers who vote early to place their ballots directly into a ballot box or voting machine rather than placing an absentee ballot into an envelope that’s sealed until Election Day. Advocates for that change gathered Wednesday at the ...

Judge rules Maine Municipal Association allowed to participate in political campaigns

By Matthew Stone on Feb. 14, 2013, at 8:08 p.m.
AUGUSTA, Maine — A U.S. District Court judge Thursday ruled in favor of the Maine Municipal Association, saying the lobbying organization that represents Maine’s towns and cities was allowed under the law to take sides and participate in five political campaigns between 2004 and 2009. The ruling by Judge John ...
An example of the ranked-choice ballot Portland voters saw when they went to the polls for the city's 2011 mayoral race.

Lawmakers team up in support of bringing ranked-choice voting to statewide races

By Will Graff on Feb. 12, 2013, at 11 a.m.
YARMOUTH, Maine — Two legislators have joined forces to support a single bill to establish ranked-choice voting in Maine. The election-law bill submitted by Sen. Dick Woodbury, I-Yarmouth, is now co-sponsored by Rep. Janice Cooper, D-Yarmouth, who submitted similar draft legislation at the beginning of the year. Woodbury said the ...
Eliot Cutler speaks to a full house of Bangor Chamber of Commerce members at the Morgan Hill Event center in Hermon on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2011.

Independent Eliot Cutler forms campaign committee for possible Blaine House bid

By Matthew Stone on Jan. 24, 2013, at 1:40 p.m.
AUGUSTA, Maine — Independent Eliot Cutler has taken the first step toward running for governor next year. Cutler on Thursday filed paperwork with the Maine Ethics Commission to form a campaign committee, a move that will allow him to begin raising money for a possible Blaine House bid. Cutler lost ...
A volunteer stops to photograph Vice President Joe Biden as he helps assemble care kits for military service members and veterans at a Unite America in Service event at the National Guard Armory in Washington on Saturday.

Vice President Joe Biden’s ‘U.S. president’ gaffe may be sign of his 2016 ambitions

By Samuel P. Jacobs, Reuters on Jan. 20, 2013, at 5:46 a.m.
WASHINGTON — Was it just another slip of the tongue by Vice President Joe Biden, or a preview of the next presidential campaign in 2016? Hours before he and President Barack Obama were due to be sworn in for their second four-year terms, Biden told supporters at the Iowa State ...

Maine electors cast votes for Obama, Biden

on Dec. 17, 2012, at 5:05 p.m.
AUGUSTA, Maine — The state’s four presidential electors formally cast their ballots to re-elect President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden on Monday, formalizing the Democrats’ victory in last month’s elections. Maine’s slate of presidential electors were Diane Denk of Kennebunk representing 1st Congressional District, Marianna Stevens of Kingfield ...

Maine’s four electors to meet Monday to cast ballots for Obama, Biden

The Associated Press on Dec. 17, 2012, at 6:26 a.m.
AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine’s four Electoral College members will cast their ballots to formalize the November presidential election won by Democratic incumbent Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. The electors will meet Monday afternoon in the Maine House of Representatives Chamber. Secretary of State Charlie Summers will convene the ...
 
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