In Maine, Race For Snowe’s Senate Seat Focuses On One Man

Former Gov. Angus King speaks in Brunswick, Maine. (AP)

Nearly a dozen Democrats and Republicans are running in party primaries in Maine next month to replace the state’s longtime and famously centrist Republican Senator, Olympia Snowe.

In February she said she’s not seeking re-election because of the bitter political divide in Washington, D.C.

But virtually everyone who is running is campaigning against one man: the popular, former two-term Governor of Maine Angus King, who is running as an independent. He’s a self-made millionaire and lawyer who famously traveled cross country in an R-V after he left office in 2003.

If he’s elected, he could swing the balance of power in what’s expected to be a closely or evenly divided Senate next year, by choosing which party to vote with. The New York Times reported this week that King has not said whether he’ll caucus with Democrats or Republicans.

A.J. Higgins, State House bureau chief for Maine Public Broadcasting Network, thinks King wants to be a dealmaker in the Senate, because that’s how he ran Maine in his years as Governor.

• New York Times: Senate Run In Maine Puts Parties In A Pinch

Guest:

• A.J. Higgins, State House bureau chief for Maine Public Broadcasting Network