Tag Archives: Janet Mills

There was no blue wave, except in Maine

Going into Tuesday’s election, there were a lot of predictions. A lot of polls. A lot of prognostication. The conventional wisdom was that we would see a Democratic tidal wave across the nation, sea to sea, from the House to the Senate to state governorships. Yes, I grant you, there was more pessimism in the […]

What to expect when you’re expecting, Election Day version

Recently I had dinner with three very informed, intelligent, politically savvy friends, all of whom — just for the record — happen to be Democrats. Naturally the conversation drifted toward Election Day, and the same question that I have been asked thousands of times this year, and thousands of times in each of the preceding […]

It is the most important election of our lives. Or is it?

“We’re nearly one month away from the most important election of our lifetime.” So said Democratic candidate for governor Janet Mills, via email, on Oct. 1. One day prior, 1st District Rep. Chellie Pingree sent an email saying, “We’re only a few weeks away from the most important midterm elections in our lifetimes, and the stakes have truly never been higher.” The day before that, […]

Maine’s pleasantly quiet race for governor

Here’s a fun fact. I live in Maine’s First Congressional District, yet I have not seen a single television ad for the campaigns of Chellie Pingree, Marty Grohman, or Mark Holbrook, the three aspirants to the southern Maine congressional seat. In contrast, I have seen what I can only assume is several thousand ads for […]

Ranked-choice ridiculousness

More than a week, and no winner. Glitches. Memory stick problems. Ballots sent by courier from remote Maine towns. And all for likely selecting the winner that would have been selected anyway under the old system? This is really how you want to do elections, Maine? Maine’s first experiment with ranked choice voting hasn’t exactly […]

18 bold predictions for 2018

Ladies and gentlemen, it is that time of year again. Yes, the time of year you all look forward to with ever-growing excitement. I’m speaking, of course, of my annual bold predictions, where I give you, dear reader, a foretelling of the coming year. This has been my gift to you every year since 2011. Last year, I […]

What, and who, do the Democrats really want?

A couple weeks ago, I took a look at the Republicans looking to succeed Gov. Paul LePage in next year’s gubernatorial election. The Democratic primary is, in many ways, a much more difficult one to handicap. The Democratic Party, much like the Republican Party several years ago, is going through a bit of an identity […]

So begins Maine’s ‘Game of Thrones’

Sen. Susan Collins has now ended months of speculation, and decided not to seek election to become Maine’s next governor. Remaining in the US Senate means that the die is more or less cast in both parties, and the race to replace Gov. Paul LePage can truly begin. On the Republican side, the field is […]