Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe today surprised both her colleagues and her constituents by announcing that she will retire at this end of this Congress. As one of the few remaining Senate moderates, she cited the Senate’s partisanship as the reason for her decision. Snowe is the 10th incumbent to decide to retire this cycle, and her decision adds a degree of uncertainty to the overall Senate landscape.
The newly open seat presents a challenge for Republicans and an opportunity for Democrats. Snowe was a shoo-in to keep the seat in the Republican column, but an open seat is entirely up for grabs. To complicate matter s for both parties, the filing deadline is March 15, leaving them with little time to recruit first-tier candidates.
The casual observer might see Maine as a solidly blue state, its two Republican U.S. Senators notwithstanding. A closer look, though, reveals a more complicated picture. In fact, Maine Democrats took quite a beating at the polls in 2010. Republican Paul LePage won the open-seat Governor’s race with 38 percent of the vote, followed by independent
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