In Maine an independent and moderate leads in Senate race

...With the balance of power in the Senate so tenuously decided, King’s unwillingness to commit to one side or the other has scrambled the calculus in Washington and brought him a lot of attention.

“I’ve come to realize that an unencumbered U.S. senator is a profound threat to the whole system,” he said. “It’s somebody that they can’t put in a box and say, oh, well, we know how this guy is going to vote. That has raised the stakes, frankly.”

And the stakes were already pretty high.

On Tuesday, six Republicans and four Democrats will face off in Senate primaries for a chance to represent their party this November. But polls show the independent King with a wide lead over any of his potential challengers in the race to succeed the retiring Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe.

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Latest News on Ron Paul's Ongoing Campaign

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Ron Paul Supporters take over Maine's GOP convention

AUGUSTA, Maine — Even before the Maine Republican Party convention kicked off in earnest Saturday morning, there was a buzz around the event.

Would GOP Chairman Charlie Webster face a backlash for apparently bending the rules to name a convention chairman ahead of time and not at the convention? Would Ron Paul supporters “take over” the convention, as Webster feared? Would what is supposed to be a party-building gathering devolve into a fractured mess?

Those questions were answered by lunchtime: Yes, yes and yes.

In extremely close votes late Saturday morning, convention-goers elected Ron Morrell, a Paul delegate, as secretary and then elected Brent Tweed, also a Paul delegate, as chairman.

Both were picked over the two candidates that were endorsed by the party establishment and the votes signaled a likely shift in how the convention would unfold.

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More on Maine

Looks like there was more to the story on Maine than I originally thought. The Young Fogey has the details here. I think Dr. Paul should ask for a recount.

Romney edges out Ron Paul in Maine

GOP front-runner Mitt Romney won Maine's Republican presidential caucuses with 39 percent of the vote, breaking a three-state losing streak by besting libertarian-leaning Ron Paul, who finished a close second with 36 percent.

Romney had 2,190 total votes, while Paul got 1,996. Rick Santorum finished third with 18 percent (989 votes). Newt Gingrich was fourth with 6 percent (349 votes).

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It was close, but we didn't quite get there.

In Maine it's Paul vs Romney

SANFORD, Maine — Mitt Romney hoped to avoid a fourth straight election setback today in the GOP presidential nomination race, but Ron Paul could extend that losing streak with a victory in Maine’s caucuses.

Romney, the one-time front-runner, stepped up efforts to court Republicans in recent days, reflecting growing concern about the outcome of what has become a two-man race in Maine.

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