Maine Governor's Race: Another Test of the Tea Party Movement
Bruce Drake
Contributing Editor
Posted:
06/12/10
One of the campaigns in which the Tea Party movement and conservative activists have reared their heads with initial success, and has not received the attention of some other similar races, is the contest for Maine governor in which Paul LePage, the mayor of Waterville and a former lumber and paper company executive, came out of nowhere to beat seven rivals for the GOP nomination. He swamped the closest contender by a 2-1 margin.
That has set up a race between the most conservative candidate in the Republican field against a distinctly liberal Democrat, state Senate President Elizabeth Mitchell. An independent candidate, environmental lawyer Eliot Cutler, believes he has a chance in the three-way race by staking out the middle ground between the two.
At the starting gate, LePage leads Mitchell by 43 percent to 36 percent, with 7 percent for Cutler and 14 percent undecided, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted June 10. The margin of error is 4.5 points.
If Cutler thinks he has a chance, he has his work cut out for him because LePage and Mitchell are far better known. Forty-six percent of voters say they don't know enough about him to be sure whether they hold a favorable or unfavorable opinion, compared with 16 percent for LePage and 10 percent for Mitchell.
LePage is drawing stronger support among fellow Republicans (82 percent) than Mitchell is among Democrats (67 percent). LePage leads Mitchell among unaffiliated voters by 44 percent to 24 percent, with 10 percent for Cutler and 23 percent undecided. Cutler is not making much of a dent among either Democrats or Republicans.
While none of the polls predicted a LePage victory, it probably shouldn't have been a surprise. In May, conservative activists along with Tea Party-related groups rejected the state GOP's proposed platform and replaced it with a document that embraced many Tea Party movement stands.
The race is to fill the seat of Gov. John Balducci, a Democrat who cannot run again because of term limits.
Follow Poll Watch on Twitter
That has set up a race between the most conservative candidate in the Republican field against a distinctly liberal Democrat, state Senate President Elizabeth Mitchell. An independent candidate, environmental lawyer Eliot Cutler, believes he has a chance in the three-way race by staking out the middle ground between the two.
At the starting gate, LePage leads Mitchell by 43 percent to 36 percent, with 7 percent for Cutler and 14 percent undecided, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted June 10. The margin of error is 4.5 points.
If Cutler thinks he has a chance, he has his work cut out for him because LePage and Mitchell are far better known. Forty-six percent of voters say they don't know enough about him to be sure whether they hold a favorable or unfavorable opinion, compared with 16 percent for LePage and 10 percent for Mitchell.LePage is drawing stronger support among fellow Republicans (82 percent) than Mitchell is among Democrats (67 percent). LePage leads Mitchell among unaffiliated voters by 44 percent to 24 percent, with 10 percent for Cutler and 23 percent undecided. Cutler is not making much of a dent among either Democrats or Republicans.
While none of the polls predicted a LePage victory, it probably shouldn't have been a surprise. In May, conservative activists along with Tea Party-related groups rejected the state GOP's proposed platform and replaced it with a document that embraced many Tea Party movement stands.
The race is to fill the seat of Gov. John Balducci, a Democrat who cannot run again because of term limits.
Follow Poll Watch on Twitter