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Nov. 6,
2012 U.S. Senate |
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Plurality: 155,181 votes (22.15 percentage points). ME
Secretary of State
INDEPENDENT PICK-UP Notes: On Feb. 28, 2012 Sen. Olympia Snowe (R) issued a surprise announcement that, after 33 years in Congress including three tems as Senator, she would not run for re-election. In her statement she decried "an atmosphere of polarization and 'my way or the highway' ideologies [that] has become pervasive in campaigns and in our governing institutions." Initial analysis suggested Snowe's decision would give Democrats a chance to pick up the seat. However, former Gov. Angus King (I) entered the race and made the argument that he, as an independent, could be an effective voice for Maine in the Senate. On Nov. 6 he prevailed by a comfortable margin over Secretary of State Charlie Summers (R), state Sen. Cynthia Dill (D) and three others. King announced his candidacy on March 5 at Bowdoin College. "In a closely divided Senate, I can be a broker for common sense. In a sea of partisan anger, I can be a voice for civility. In a national debate that's largely been taken over by the extremes...I can speak for the middle," he stated (>). Both major parties had competitive campaigns leading to the June 12 primaries. Six candidates ran the Republican primary; Summers garnered 20,732 votes to 16,064 for State Treasurer Bruce Poliquin, 12,576 for Richard Bennett, 7,722 for L. Scott D'Amboise, 6,875 for William Schneider, and 6,309 for Debra Plowman, also 3,218 blank votes were tallied for a total of 73,564. Four candidates ran in the Democratic primary; Dill won with 22,974 votes to 18,546 for former Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, 6,414 for Jon Hinck and 4,007 for Justin Pollard; 8,574 blank votes were also tallied for a total of 60,515. The three-way contest made for interesting dynamics. King was seen as the frontrunner throughout the fall campaign. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), anticipating that King would likely caucus with Democrats if elected, did not endorse Dill, who was the party's nominee, and she had very modest fundraising numbers. Debates included: Sept. 17 - Dill, King and Summers, hosted by the Sun Journal at the Franco-American Heritage Center in Lewiston. Oct. 9 - Dill, King and Summers in the Eggs and Issues Debate hosted by the Portland Regional Chamber in Portland. Nov. 1 - all six candidates, hosted by Maine Public Broadcasting Network at Husson University in Bangor (>). Nov. 2 [rescheduled due to Hurricane Sandy] - all six candidates, WMTW-TV in Auburn (>). Nov. 3 - all six candidates, MaineToday Media, WGME-TV and WGAN-AM at Lewiston Middle School. [Yarmuth businessman Steve Woods endorsed King in his closing statement] There were as well numerous other debates/forums sponsored by various groups. Reporting by centralmaine.com mentions three of these which Summers did not participate in: the Disability Rights Center forum in Augusta on Sept. 27, the Maine Municipal Association event in Augusta on Oct. 4, and a Maine Women's Policy Center/AARP forum in Portland on Oct. 4. According to Open Secrets (>), the King campaign spent $2.9 million, the Summers campaign $1.2 million, the Dill campaign $190,528. Top outside spending groups were: NRSC ($1.6m), DSCC ($1.4m), Americans Elect ($1.3m), Crossroads GPS ($1.0m) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce ($927,614). King had maintained a neutral position throughout the campaign about which party he would caucus with if elected, although there were signs and speculation he might caucus with the Democrats. On Nov. 14, he announced he would in fact caucus with Democrats. Campaign Managers: Angus King: Kay Rand Managing director of Bernstein Shur Government Solutions. Chief of staff to Gov. King, 1995-2003; started as his policy director and managed his gubernatorial campaigns. Director of state and federal relations for the Maine Municipal Association, 1977-1988. B.A. in political science from University of Southern Maine, 1977. Native of Ashland, Maine. Cynthia Dill: (two main staffers: Kate Cadena and Katie MacDonald) Charlie Summers: Lance Dutson (reported June 2012) CEO of the Maine Heritage Policy Center since Aug. 2011. New media director on Steven Abbott's gubernatorial campaign, Jan.-June 2010. New media director to Sen. Susan Collins, 2008-10. Founded Maine Web Report blog in 2006. Founded Maine Coast Design, web development and internet consulting, 2002. See also: Colin Woodard. "U.S. Senate race: Summers' previous losses don't stop quest for Congress." Portland Press Herald, Oct. 27, 2012. Colin Woodard. "U.S. Senate race: Democrat Dill stands her ground, then and now." Portland Press Herald, Oct. 13, 2012. Colin Woodard. "The making of a man without a party." Portland Press Herald, Sept. 22, 2012. Katherine Q. Seelye. "Rove vs. Bloomberg? It Seems That Way in Maine Senate Race." New York Times, Nov. 1, 2012. Manu Raju. "Cold calculus of Maine's 3-way race." Politico, Oct. 9, 2012. Staff. "Cynthia Dill forgotten in Democrat campaign overview." Morning Sentinel, July 22, 2012. Clarke Canfield. "With no primary, Angus King works on organizing campaign." Sun Journal, June 11, 2012. and: Maggie Haberman. "NRSC goes dark in Maine." Politico, Oct. 25, 2012. Susan Sharon. "Negative Ads Reign In Main Senate Race." NPR, Oct. 18, 2012. Paul Kane. "Chamber ad attacks Maine Senate candidate Angus King." The Washington Post, Oct. 12, 2012. John Richardson. "National group spends $1.7 million on pro-Angus King ads." Portland Press Herald, Oct. 5, 2012. |
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