I have a gut feeling that we can retake the Senate. One of the seats that is definitely on my list is Maine. So let’s take a deep dive into that race…as you certainly know, the incumbent is anti-choice, Bret-Kavanaugh-enabler Susan Collins, who has held her seat since 1997. On the plus side, as I’ve pointed out many times before, she makes great blueberry muffins and passes them out at constituent events. And um…..that’s it, the upside is the muffins.
On the other side, she’s just plain bad news. She wasn’t always this way, but she’s now. She’s got a primary challenger in Derek Levasseur, He’s challenging from the right and says that Collins isn’t supporting Trumpkin enough. He launched a few months ago and has raised about $7,000. At first, I thought I read it wrong and he raised $7 million, but then I put my glasses on and saw it’s $7 thousand. All of that money is from individuals who gave less than $200 each — on the bright side for him, that translates into votes. On the downside, he spent all the money and is now $2 grand in the hole.
Collins, meanwhile, has about $5.5 million CoH, and receives about a quarter of her funding from PACs. But is money everything? Her polling is fascinating. she is now the second lowest polling Senator. The only Senator hated more than she is #MoscowMitch. Read all the juicy details here. But let’s say she gets through the primary, she’ll still need to face a Democrat, and, this being Maine, some third party folks. And remember, Maine has ranked voting.
Remember that whoever wins the Democratic Party receives a minimum of $4 million. Back when it was theoretically questionable whether Collins would be the deciding vote on Kavanaugh, Maine People’s Alliance, Mainers for Accountable Leadership and activist Ady Barkan set up a fundraiser on the platform Crowdpac, You can still donate at Fund Susan Collins’ Future Opponent. So who are the choices?
The biggest name is Sara Gideon, who is the current Speaker of the Maine House and thus has a lot of name recognition and the support of outside groups, and has raised about a million so far. Those groups include the DSCC, NARAL and EMILY’S List. Gideon is the one to beat, and the most likely winner.
Next is Betsy Sweet, with about $60,000 CoH. She has been an advocate for Women’s issues, and was eliminated in the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial primary.
And then there is Bre “Bee Kay” Kidman. She’s got about $5 grand CoH. And here is her background:
“A local attorney, activist, performance artist, burlesque dancer, founding member of M.E.S.H. Portland, and runnerup to Best Public Intellectual (as voted in the Phoenix’s 2018 Best of Portland Readers’ Poll), Kidman has taken on a new epithet this fall, releasing the raw and visceral electro/industrial pop album under the alias Bee Kay Esq” I am not making this up.
There is not a lot of daylight between their positions. All three are running on center-left platforms, with both Sweet and Kidman being a bit more left than Gideon. But Gideon has both the infrastructure and the institutional support. Gideon is not centrist enough to face a challenge from the Justice Democrats or related groups, and it’s doubtful that those challenges would play well given the demographics of Maine. It is the oldest state in the nation, and facing the kind of problems other states will also follow as their populations age. The only overall solution to those problems relate to increasing younger populations and providing them with living wage jobs. So, we’re talking immigration, given the abysmal birth rate nationwide. Thus, the campaign going forward will be related to bread-and-butter issues. Gideon’s solutions are the most realistic, and salable, to the electorate.
The sole general election poll so far is from June, and while it shows Collins over Gideon 44 – 30 (the rest to third party), that poll came from Gravis, which has a C+ rating, and is a Republican pollster, so needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Plus, it’s early. Finally, that poll was accomplished the week that Sara Gideon announced, so there’s no doubt that her numbers will improve as people know she’s running. Granted, we are more than a year out, but hopefully Gideon will clear the bar and win the primary. Barring something out of left field, count this as one more to our tally in January 2021.
