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An internal poll released late yesterday suggests that independent candidate Eliot Cutler might be picking up momentum in his bid to unseat
Republican Gov. Paul LePage in Maine’s three-cornered gubernatorial contest.
Cutler, a Harvard and Georgetown-educated lawyer who sunk more than $1.7 million of his own money into a previous bid for governor in 2010 — finishing a close second to LePage while leaving his Democratic opponent in the dust — had been languishing in recent public opinion polls, but a new poll conducted by a Virginia-based company shows the Cape Elizabeth attorney garnering 19 percent of the vote.
The poll, which was commissioned by the Cutler campaign, also showed Gov. LePage and Democratic challenger Mike Michaud, a six-term congressman representing the state’s second congressional district, deadlocked at 35 percent apiece.
Eleven percent of those surveyed are undecided.
The poll, which sampled 400 likely voters between Sept. 16 and 17, seems to counter the Michaud campaign’s contention that Cutler’s candidacy has been losing viability and the race is now essentially a two-way struggle between LePage and his Democratic challenger.
Before finishing in a flurry, Cutler was polling at around 11 percent at this stage in the 2010 campaign.
This is great news, maybe Angus King can help Cutler move the needle. It seems like there is a genuine desire to break free of the two-party domination that it coming to the surface this year.
We could wind up with independent senators in Maine, Vermont, South Dakota and Kansas by the end of this year… and independent governors in Alaska, South Carolina and Maine.
Very encouraging!
Reading through the atilcre on the Bangor News Daily, it sounds like the Democrats are accusing the Governor of undermining efficiency projects long-term. As an outsider looking in however, it seems that the Governor is simply trying to figure out a way to make it through this winter with the reduced federal stipend. It looks like local politics might be standing in the way of most people getting government assistance for their heat this winter. I’m sure the Democrats have their reasons for not wanting to shift the funds, but in the interest of those who are dependent on the assistance, perhaps they should reserve the fight for next summer.