Tag Archives: Michael Brennan

A very early look at what could be Maine’s most interesting legislative races

In the Senate, Democrats are fighting among themselves more early on. In the House, some tantalizing general-election matchups have begun.

Virginia decided a tied election in a drawing. Here’s what would happen in Maine

Good morning from Augusta. Last week, Virginia decided a crucial, tied legislative election with a random drawing that a Republican won. That wouldn’t happen in Maine — except in one kind of election. Maine law sets out four different ways to break ties in four types of elections. And they would be doozies. Tied primary […]

Nibble on these Maine political morsels before the big meal

Our Thanksgiving Eve political morsels include a former Portland mayor’s desire to go back to the Legislature and U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin new Green challenger.

Dunlap, McCabe, Beliveau among Sanders’ 60 Maine endorsements

Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders got a lift in Maine on Tuesday with endorsements from Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, party godfather and lobbyist Severin Beliveau and a host of legislators. The progressive Vermont senator is an underdog in his race against Hillary Clinton — who received early endorsements from most of Maine’s big-name Democrats — but a Tuesday […]

This ad in Lewiston’s mayoral race doesn’t make sense

This ad for Lewiston Mayor Robert Macdonald’s re-election bid was spotted in a local weekly paper yesterday, and I’m still struggling to understand it. Macdonald, a two-term incumbent known for being conservative, finds himself locked in a battle with Democratic activist Ben Chin. Three other candidates — Stephen Morgan, Luke Jensen and Charles Soule — […]

Poliquin, somewhat grudgingly, votes for bipartisan budget bill

Nobody’s perfectly happy with the two-year budget deal between congressional leaders and President Barack Obama that cleared the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday. It would raise spending by $80 billion over that period, dividing that equally between defense and domestic programs. That excess spending was offset by equal amounts of spending cuts and revenue hikes. Democrats, including […]

In letters, LePage takes Katz fight to GOP, backs wind project

Good morning from Augusta. Today’s Daily Brief is brought to you by two letters from Gov. Paul LePage’s administration that caught our eye last week. LePage isn’t big on Roger Katz these days LePage has escalated an intra-party fight with Sen. Roger Katz, forwarding two letters to the Maine Republican Party’s state committee urging the senator to recuse […]

Maine moves to 48th (!) on Forbes business-friendly list

Good news, Maine! We’re No. 48! That’s on the Forbes magazine list of business-friendly states. Maine sat at 49th last year after taking 50th place — last among states, for you civic-minded people — from 2010 to 2013. It gives Maine the worst economic climate in the country, pegging the state’s growth prospects at 49th. Forbes does […]