ME: Independents Gaining Traction

[Kingpoleon]

If she runs the race is hers. The question would be who she would nominate to be her replacement.

Steve Abbott, Bruce Poliquin, Charlie Summers, Roger Katz, Kimberly Rosen, and Amy Volk are all plausible and all varying degrees of moderates.

[Kingpoleon]

Attorney General Janet Mills says she’ll run for governor in 2018

Well, she is a rather big name. Do you think that will clear the field?

[Kingpoleon]

Attorney General Janet Mills says she’ll run for governor in 2018

Well, she is a rather big name. Do you think that will clear the field?

I think it will, as far as big names on the Dem side go.

That's too bad. I really wish Michaud would run and win, or maybe Joe Baldacci.

[Kingpoleon]

No Republican is ever going to run as a moderate again thanks to the Tea Party/TRUMP.

There's Charlie Baker. And Larry Hogan. And Phil Scott.

There are still quite a few.

Those people are persona non grata in the national Republican Party and represent blue states. Don't be intellectually dishonest.

Susan Collins? Carlos Curbelo? Elise Stefanik? Brian Sandoval? Spencer Cox? Ileana Ros-Lehtinehen, probably one of the five most powerful women in the House? David Joyce? Lamar Alexander? Bill Haslam? Shelley Moore Capito?

The list goes on and on. In case any of you forgot, Kasich was the plurality of Trump's primary voters second choice, esp. in the Northeast, West Coast, and Midwest. Without Trump in the race, he and Bush combined would have cracked 30-40%.

[Kingpoleon]

Susan Collins? Carlos Curbelo? Elise Stefanik? Brian Sandoval? Spencer Cox? Ileana Ros-Lehtinehen, probably one of the five most powerful women in the House? David Joyce? Lamar Alexander? Bill Haslam? Shelley Moore Capito?

The list goes on and on. In case any of you forgot, Kasich was the plurality of Trump's primary voters second choice, esp. in the Northeast, West Coast, and Midwest. Without Trump in the race, he and Bush combined would have cracked 30-40%.

- Collins is unpopular at home and is (presumably) extremely unpopular among GOP voters nationwide; no one besides psephologists know who Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is but if she was prominent enough to be a national name, obviously the base would despise her

- Stefanik, Curbelo, and (especially) Alexander are just generic Republicans so I don't understand their inclusion

- Haslam and Sandoval's national prospects were donor fantasies; they would've gone nowhere in 2016 and Haslam would've probably been sat at the kiddie table had he ran.

The others in your list include some random lieutenant governor and a totally irrelevant backbencher.

On abortion, gay rights, government spending, the Paris agreement, and immigration, Curbelo is undoubtedly moderate, as is Stefanik for the most part.

[Kingpoleon]

John Jenkins sounds amazing. I’d like to see him and Hayes reach some agreement, though, where maybe she runs for the House and endorsed him.