The Tipping Point Blog Archive 2008

Senate District 15

Submitted by Mike Tipping on Tue, 10/14/2008 - 8:29pm.

The election in senate district 15 will likely be one of the closest contests in November. The Republican incumbent, Senator Lois Snowe-Mello, is fielding a challenge from term-limited Democratic Representative Deborah Simpson. Snowe-Mello won by only 395 votes in 2006, and Simpson is a strong campaigner.

The experts I talked to all agreed that both candidates will work hard to contest the seat, but were split on

The McCain campaign counts mainly on north Maine.

Submitted by Mike Tipping on Tue, 10/07/2008 - 9:57pm.

This post is about the presidential campaign. If you're hungering for some state senate coverage, check out these articles from the Blethen papers: 3, 4,

The Politics of a Crisis

Submitted by Mike Tipping on Mon, 09/29/2008 - 5:25am.

Due to the worsening economic crisis, I've decided to suspend the series on state senate races and instead fly to Washington to help with the bailout… or maybe I'll just write about how the crisis has affected Maine's people and politics.

The first thing to note is that the mortgage crisis hasn't hit Maine as hard as it has other regions.

A Top Priority Senate Seat

Submitted by Mike Tipping on Mon, 09/22/2008 - 3:36pm.

With the retirement of Karl Turner in District 11, what has previously been a solid Republican seat may have become much more competitive, and political observers from across the ideological spectrum are interested in the race.

Jesse Graham, executive director of the progressive Maine People's Alliance identified it as one of the races he's watching most closely.

"This has

Maine's 1st Senate District

Submitted by Mike Tipping on Tue, 09/16/2008 - 5:43pm.

Maine's 1st Senate District encompasses the five southernmost towns in the state, including York and Kittery, and like District 32, features a race between an incumbent Senator and an opponent who has held the seat previously.

Every Republican I've asked about the Senate has listed District 1 as a top opportunity to pick up a seat. Dan Billings, a

District 32: Perry or Sawyer?

Submitted by Mike Tipping on Mon, 09/08/2008 - 4:39pm.

District 32

The state Senate race in district 32 (Bangor and Hermon) pits incumbent Democratic Senator Joe Perry against former Senator Tom Sawyer, who lost the seat to then Representative Perry in 2004. The rematch is attracting a lot of interest.

Tony Payne, executive director (and blogger)

Maine may be shaded a solid blue on CNN

Submitted by Mike Tipping on Tue, 09/02/2008 - 3:15pm.
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Maine may be shaded a solid blue on CNN's presidential election map, but the real story is much more complicated, especially at the state and local level.

Maine Republican Party and the 'Hired Gun' Author

Submitted by Mike Tipping on Mon, 08/25/2008 - 7:11pm.

Alex Ray was the first executive director of the Maine Republican Party, a post he held from 1971-1974. In his new book, "Hired Gun: A Political Odyssey," he describes a deeply dived Republican party, explains how he won big victories for Republicans in the state House and Senate, and also gives lie to the notion of Maine politics being devoid of dirty tactics.

State of the Race

Submitted by Mike Tipping on Mon, 08/18/2008 - 12:02pm.

As Labor Day approaches, political campaigns in Maine shift into high gear, and will run hard straight through until the election in November. Now is a good time to take stock of what will likely be Maine's most contentious election this year, the US Senate race between Incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins and Democratic 1st District Congressman Tom Allen. The Horse Race This week, Rasmussen released a

Maine and the Presidential Election

Submitted by Mike Tipping on Mon, 08/11/2008 - 4:33pm.
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There's a slim chance that northern and central Maine will decide the Presidential election.

Because Maine assigns two of its electoral votes in the presidential election to the winner of each of the state's two congressional districts, there's always the possibility that the states vote will be split, with three votes going to one candidate and one to the other.

The split would be most likely to occur if John McCain made inroads into the 2nd district. Despite the fact that a Democrat

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