A few notes while waiting for the next battle between Gov. Paul LePage and the Democratic-controlled Legislature . . . Actually, it’s looking we won’t have to wait that long.  On Wednesday Senate President Justin Alfond, D-Portland, and House Speaker Mark Eves, D-North Berwick, released a joint statement dinging the governor for his recent […]

Independent gubernatorial candidate Eliot Cutler released his new bio video Tuesday to coincide with his campaign launch in Bangor and Portland (He also has a new website).   The idea behind the three-minute video is pretty much the same as the one Democratic candidate Mike Michaud released earlier this month, doubling as reintroduction to voters and a branding […]

(Since political operatives are already complaining about the selections, I’ll add what I thought was obvious from the diversity of the tweets: Featuring tweets here is not an endorsement of the opinions expressed by the author of the tweets. — S.M.) As promised, here are some of highlights from the Twitter feed.  The first attempt […]

A widely distributed graphic by Pew’s Stateline news service was quickly sucked into the governor’s race by opponents of Gov. Paul LePage. The graphic showed that Maine was one of three states to lose jobs between April 2012 and April 2013.  The Pew graphic may have been correct when it was published. But it’s wrong now.  […]

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mike Michaud launched a three-minute web video Monday that seemed designed to introduce the six-term congressman to Maine voters who may know the name, but not the man.  The video, described as a biographical spot by his campaign, hit some familiar notes for those familiar with Michaud’s work in the Legislature and […]

  There’s been a fair amount of chatter about which Maine Democrat would take on Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins in 2014. Not a lot of chatter, however, because everyone assumes that Collins is once again indestructible.  But this rumor is interesting: Shenna Bellows, head of the Maine Civil Liberties Union of Maine, is believed […]

(Update: Check out Mike Tipping’s post for a local take on this PPP mess) The North Carolina-based polling firm Public Policy Polling has become the target of some scathing criticism from polling analysts following its decision to withhold the results of a survey that showed Colorado lawmaker Angela Giron would likely be recalled by voters on […]

The Maine People’s Resource Center released a new poll Wednesday that surveyed likely voters for the 2014 gubernatorial race and a few other topics.  The results were similar to those reported by Public Policy Polling, the North Carolina-based firm that conducts polls on a variety of topics, including presidential and congressional races.  MPRC is affiliated with […]

Improvements and modifications.  That’s the self-imposed mandate for the Ticker, which has languished over the summer months as I tended to pressing matters:    All that changes today. First, an announcement: New stuff! As anyone who browses (or trolls, or spams) the #mepolitics Twitter feed knows, there’s can be abundance of wit, humor, sanctimony and […]

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mike Michaud announced his senior campaign staff Tuesday. There may be a few surprises for those not following the campaign since the six-term congressman made his bid official.  Matt McTighe will be the campaign manager. McTighe is perhaps best known in Maine for his efforts during the successful 2012 marriage equality campaign. […]