Chellie Pingree

Is there any politician in Maine that doesn't have an energy plan?

As far as I can tell we are being told we need more wind mills, more hydroelectric, more oil, less oil, more drilling, less drilling, more nuke plants, no nukes, more conservation, less consumption, more hybrids, less driving, more car pooling, different light bulbs, less speculation, tax credits, more transmission lines, more wood pellet stoves, more weatherization, a tuned up boiler, more solar panels and on and on.......

Chellie Pingree has a love life.

I know -- I was always under the impression that politicians didn't do those things. Anyway, it would appear that Ms. Pingree does do those things and she does them with Don Sussman. I read all about it in the Bollard, which is a nifty local paper in Portland with a very talented writer in Chris Busby. (note: The July 2008 edition)

Great, end of story.

Not exactly -- You see, in politics when you don't quite answer a reporters question in a forthcoming manner, that triggers a reaction in the pituitary gland which in turn forces a reporter to track even the blandest of stories like a lion on the hunt. Bottom line: Someone's going down for the kill.

The following are the basics from the most recent round of campaign finance reports for Congressional candidates. The basics for U.S. Senate candidates Susan Collins and Tom Allen can be found here.

Since the primary election fell in the middle of the second quarter, the first number listed reflects the first part of the quarter, April 1 to May 21. The second number is the second part of the quarter, May 22 to June 30. The third number is either the total between the two halves, or the cycle-to-date total.

The Maine Education Association has endorsed Tom Allen for U.S. Senate and Chellie Pingree for the First Congressional District.

Following the endorsement of Allen, incumbent Susan Collins’ campaign fired off a press release announcing her support from members of the education community.

The MEA is the union representing 25,000 teachers in Maine. The endorsements are based on candidate interviews and voting records.

U.S. Rep. Tom AllenDemocracy for America, a progressive political action group, has endorsed U.S. Rep. Tom Allen for Senate, and Chellie Pingree for Congress, both Democrats.

DFA will provide donations from progressives and volunteers for grassroots outreach for both campaigns.

Allen is running against incumbent Susan Collins. This leaves his seat open, and there Pingree is challenging Republican Charlie Summers.

Congressional candidate Chellie Pingree: Campaign photoIn case you missed it, check out reporter Paul Carrier’s piece in the Portland Press Herald where he examines the relationship between Hannah and Chellie Pingree, and what might happen if Chellie is elected to Congress and Hannah is elected Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives.

Carrier writes:

Congressional candidate Chellie PingreePORTLAND -- In spite of a late charge from Adam Cote, front runner Chellie Pingree captured a convincing win tonight in the Democratic primary for Maine's 1st Congressional District.

With 73 percent of precincts reporting, Pingree leads Cote 44 percent to 26 percent.

After waiting until after 11 p.m. for the local networks to call the race, Pingree addressed a boisterous crowd of a couple hundred supporters jammed into the Porthole Restaurant, an old bar and grill on the waterfront in downtown Portland. "We can actually say it now," she finally said, "I think that we won."

The Portland Press Herald has declared Tom Allen the victor in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary, and Chellie Pingree and Charlie Summers the winners in the Congressional District 1 primaries.

EARLIER on PolitickerME.com:

• Early returns show Allen, Pingree, Summers leading