Rove vs. Bloomberg in Maine:

[amborin]

BANGOR, Me. — The Maine Senate race has become so convoluted that at times it has seemed as if the candidates running against each other were Karl Rove and Michael R. Bloomberg.

Both Mr. Rove, the mastermind of Republican “super PAC” money, and Mr. Bloomberg, the billionaire mayor of New York City, have injected considerable cash into this race (on opposing sides) and, as a result, have become proxies for their political foes. But that is not the only oddity here.

With an independent candidate as the perceived front-runner, a Republican group actually made a financial donation to the Democratic candidate. The Democrat has been abandoned by her national party. And the Republican nominee has been cold-shouldered by Olympia J. Snowe, the popular Republican senator whose retirement led to the race to replace her.

Republicans were distraught when Ms. Snowe announced in February that she would not seek re-election. They had counted on an easy victory for her to help the party take control of the Senate. When Angus King, a popular former governor, entered the race as an independent, he shot to the top of the polls.

Mr. King has refused to say whether he would side with the Republicans or Democrats, although many analysts expect him to vote with the Democrats, given his support for President Obama. So Republicans concluded that they at least had to try to knock off Mr. King if they wanted any chance of taking the Senate. Outside interests, notably Mr. Rove’s Crossroads GPS and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, joined the National Republican Senatorial Committee in pumping millions of dollars into television ads against Mr. King.

At the same time, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has kept its distance from their party’s nominee, Cynthia Dill, a state senator, because they figured Mr. King had a better chance of winning than she did and he would side with them anyway. Some state Democrats rallied round Ms. Dill, but many did not.

Now, after a tumultuous summer and fall in which party lines were scrambled and more than $6 million in outside money gushed into the state, Mr. King is still maintaining a double-digit lead in the polls.

This has discouraged at least some supporters of Charles Summers, the Republican nominee and Maine’s secretary of state. Both the national Republican and Democratic senate campaign committees have stopped buying television ads in the state.

But Mr. Rove has not. Crossroads has just tossed another $335,000 into the pot for a new ad blasting Mr. King, saying he used his influence to help wind power companies like his own (a charge the King campaign denies.)

The last-minute infusion brings Crossroads’s total spending in the race to nearly $1 million, and it has given some fresh hope to the Summers team.

“The fact that Crossroads has locked in for the final week with a new ad should reinforce the fact that this race continues to be seen as a winnable race for Charlie,” Lance Dutson, Mr. Summers’s campaign manager, wrote in an e-mail.

In the down-to-the-wire presidential contest, Mitt Romney has shown sudden interest in Maine; the state has been leaning toward Mr. Obama in the polls, but it awards its Electoral College votes based on results in the state’s two Congressional Districts, and even one such vote could matter. Mr. Dutson said that television ad buys by the Romney camp “means a significant amount of resources will be spent to help get Charlie elected.”

One of Mr. King’s chief benefactors has been Mr. Bloomberg, who sent a $500,000 infusion as part of a $1.75 million donation from a group called Americans Elect. The group stepped in after the avalanche of negative ads started to hurt Mr. King. The mayor hosted a fund-raiser for Mr. King and also started his own super PAC with plans to funnel up to $15 million more to various candidates, including Mr. King.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/02/us/rove-versus-bloomberg-it-just-seems-that-way-in-maine.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0

[modrepub]

1. The Repub ME Gov Hasn't Helped Either

LaPage is his name and tea bag's his game. Hopefully ME comes to its senses next election.

[magical thyme]

2. it wasn't total lack of Mainer's senses that got Gov. 38% elected

There was a lackluster dem and half a dozen indies running. 2 weeks out, the dem candidate had only 20% of the vote, with one independent, Elliot Cutler, neck and neck with Gov. 38%. I waited until the last minute and then voted for Cutler. But too many dems voted early for the dem candidate and even when something (I forget the details now) gave them a chance to change their votes, it was too much trouble.

This time around, the moment Angus King, a very popular former governor, announced he'd run as an indie, the top tier dems (including my own beloved Chellie Pingree) decided not to run this time around.

As of a week or so ago, the dem candidate only has 14% support, whereas Angus Kind has a strong lead. I voted a week ago...straight dem ticket *except* the senate seat. The last thing we need is a senator 38% to match the teabagger gov.

Sooner or later, the other evil twin will retire and the top dems can go after that seat. In the meantime, Angus is a far cry better than Gov. 38%. He supports the Prez and is generally left of center.

[Jennicut]

3. Elected with 38% of the vote?

Ouch for Maine.

Angus King will be much better then any Repub up there.

[modrepub]

4. Brother-In-Law

voted for LaPage (can tell from your post the GOV must be really bad when you won't even use his name). I have no idea why he did given his generally liberal positions and the fact that he's part of a two teacher household.

The dems up in ME must have royally screwed up to loose out in a two party race. I chalk it up to deep seated yankee mistrust of all things Washington (dc). I have family up there and visit downeast often (in the summer).

[magical thyme]

6. it wasn't a 2-party race

There were half a dozen or so indies running. The outcome was:

GOP: 38%
Indie#1: 37%
DEM: 20%
Indies#2-?: 5%

Gov 38% is a teabagger. I cannot imagine any dem or left-leaner voting for him, let alone a school teacher.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

5. Rove must be a dumber dick than I thought. Yeah way to go pissing off

Last edited Thu Nov 1, 2012, 02:20 PM - Edit history (1)

the guy whose gonna win it no matter what.

Edit:
Goddamn phone autocorrect!!!