BREAKING: Snowe not running!!!!

[redcommander]

And Democrats shouldn't be counting their chickens when Maine did after all elect Paul LePage.

With <40% of the vote...

...

It's Maine. The last gubernatorial candidate to win over 50% was an Independent.

[Mr.Phips]

What are you talking about? They control the state legislature. Of course they have a bench of electable candidates to run. And Democrats shouldn't be counting their chickens when Maine did after all elect Paul LePage.

Republicans won the state legislature because a bunch of fringe candidates got swept in by the wave in 2010.  Many of them would have zero chance of getting elected statewide in a neutral year.   LePage only won because of the wave and did so with 38%. 

[ag]

Maine, obviously, is not Massachusetts (not anymore ) ). However, this does convert a safe R into what I'd think should be a lean D.

Collins is going to be VERY lonely now.

[Nichlemn]

lol Rothenberg putting this at pure tossup. If it had been a Democrat retiring, it would have been Lean or Likely D.

[Seattle]

I for one am a bit sad... even if its a gain for the dems. It's good to have a moderating voice in each party... now there's one less in the republican party, which has few to begin with.

[Miles]

Wow. I wish her the best.

This could cancel out Nebraska.

I sure hope Collins doesn't follow suit in 2014...

[redcommander]

Wow. I wish her the best.

This could cancel out Nebraska.

I sure hope Collins doesn't follow suit in 2014...

That wouldn't be good news either, especially since Collins is slightly more conservative than Snowe.

[Miles]

If they pick up Maine, all Democrats would have to do is knock off Brown and hold FL and NM to have 50+ Biden control of the Senate. They could afford to lose VA, MO, WI, ND, NE and NV.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Ouch. This sucks from a good government perspective.

Republican candidates (possible) here include Peter Cianchette, Attorney General Bill Schneider, and Treasurer Bruce Poliquin.

[Svensson]

While I do think the Democrats seriously shouldn't count their chickens before they hatch(bring to mind Massachusetts, then bring to mind how Maine is a swing state compared to it), I'm fairly certain of their chances here. The Republican bench consists almost exclusively of newbies, fringe candidates, and fringe candidate newbies, whereas the Democrats have two U.S. Representatives all to their own. I'm stamping this as Likely D.

Personally, I'd love to see Cutler have another Indy go and win that way. Unlikely as it is, it would be glorious.

[Simfan34]

A loss for the Senate.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Good riddance. Maybe we'll get a Senator to replace her with any sort of coherent ideology.

Very surprising, though.

[nclib]

Very surprising. I wonder if Dems will be more favored or less favored than they would be if Snowe was teabagged.

I for one am a bit sad... even if its a gain for the dems. It's good to have a moderating voice in each party... now there's one less in the republican party, which has few to begin with.

Agreed to an extent, the Republicans have so few moderates, and inevitably will control the Senate sometime in the next couple cycles.

[Mr.Phips]

Very surprising. I wonder if Dems will be more favored or less favored than they would be if Snowe was teabagged.

I for one am a bit sad... even if its a gain for the dems. It's good to have a moderating voice in each party... now there's one less in the republican party, which has few to begin with.

Agreed to an extent, the Republicans have so few moderates, and inevitably will control the Senate sometime in the next couple cycles.

They will probably get control for a term after 2014, but I dont see Republicans holding the Senate after 2016.  You think Toomey, Kirk, and Johnson can survive a Presidential year Democratic turnout?  Hell, even Richrard Burr and Roy Blunt will likely have tough races in a non-heavily Republican environment. 

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Good riddance to this faux moderate. The Democrats must have wasted their entire 6 months they had a filibuster proof majority writing a health care bill specifically for her vote for and she still voted against it.

[greenforest32]

Finally. I really tire of hearing about how awesome the "moderate" Maine twins are.

[tmthforu94]

Well, I may be in the minority for saying this, but it's disappointing to see one of the few non-hyperpartisan members of Congress retiring. She served Maine well.

[JohnnyLongtorso]

Wow. I wish her the best.

This could cancel out Nebraska.

I sure hope Collins doesn't follow suit in 2014...

Considering how joined at the hip they seem to be, a Collins retirement would not be surprising in the least. She is getting married, maybe it's time to settle down and do whatever it is rich 60-ish newlyweds do.

[Averroës Nix]

Harold Ford Jr. / Olympia Snowe 2012 on the Americans Elect/Fake Moderate ticket?

No, because Harold Ford is probably packing his bags for Maine.

[Хahar 🤔]

Good riddance. Let's hope Collins is next.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

[Fuzzybigfoot]

Good riddance. Let's hope Collins is next.

[bgwah]

[smoltchanov]

Well, I may be in the minority for saying this, but it's disappointing to see one of the few non-hyperpartisan members of Congress retiring. She served Maine well.

+101! I stated many times that after 35 years of studying US politics in details i began to lose interest in that exactly because of hyperpartisanship of last years. What sense it would make to analyze 435 races in which 435 Pelosi-clones will run against 435 Boehner-clones? Absolutely  no sense. And we are close to that already. Snowe was one of my favorite Senators exactly because she was a genuine moderate almost all time (it seems ti me she moved somewhat to the right after 2010 election). Sad. And BOTH parties are to blame for abandoning "big tent" policy of the past. Honestly - i don't know which one - more, and don't like to know that.

The race is somewhere between leans and likely Democratiс right now. The best Democratic candidate (IMHO, of course) would be Michaud, but then Democrats may lose his district in House. Pingree is way too liberal and too shrill for my tastes...

Republicans need very moderate candidate here, and moderates have at least some difficulties in republican primaries as of late (not only in 2010, when tea-party crowd carried LePage over finish line and then he was a biggest "lucky person of the year" by winning over atrocious Democrat and reasonable Independent, who would win if elections would be held 3-4 days later), but in  2006 as well, when they nominated an idiot Woodcock and thus immediately lost a chance to defeat unpopular Baldacci. And they need such candidate QUICK... We shall see whether they will be able to find one. Raye, Otten, Abbot, Summers? All are not that bad, but not especially great either.

[redcommander]

Well, I may be in the minority for saying this, but it's disappointing to see one of the few non-hyperpartisan members of Congress retiring. She served Maine well.

+101! I stated many times that after 35 years of studying US politics in details i began to lose interest in that exactly because of hyperpartisanship of last years. What sense it would make to analyze 435 races in which 435 Pelosi-clones will run against 435 Boehner-clones? Absolutely  no sense. And we are close to that already. Snowe was one of my favorite Senators exactly because she was a genuine moderate almost all time (it seems ti me she moved somewhat to the right after 2010 election). Sad. And BOTH parties are to blame for abandoning "big tent" policy of the past. Honestly - i don't know which one - more, and don't like to know that.

The race is somewhere between leans and likely Democratiс right now. The best Democratic candidate (IMHO, of course) would be Michaud, but then Democrats may lose his district in House. Pingree is way too liberal and too shrill for my tastes...

Republicans need very moderate candidate here, and moderates have at least some difficulties in republican primaries as of late (not only in 2010, when tea-party crowd carried LePage over finish line and then he was a biggest "lucky person of the year" by winning over atrocious Democrat and reasonable Independent, who would win if elections would be held 3-4 days later), but in  2006 as well, when they nominated an idiot Woodcock and thus immediately lost a chance to defeat unpopular Baldacci. And they need such candidate QUICK... We shall see whether they will be able to find one. Raye, Otten, Abbot, Summers? All are not that bad, but not especially great either.

Peter Mills seems like the best candidate, but I'm not sure he wants to run again after losing to LePage in 2010's primary.