US Senate

Critical Insights will be releasing their annual Spring Tracking Poll this week and according to a source the poll will have Susan Collins with 51 percent support and Tom Allen at 37 percent, Ten percent are still undecided.

This poll comes on the heels of the Rasmussen Poll which had the race with Collins up only 7 percent, and the poll from Pat Murphy that had Collins up by 25 percent.  The latest critical insights poll has established the middle ground with Collins up by 14 percent.

There will be lots of other information available as the full poll becomes available.  In addition to reporting on the US Senate race, the poll also touches on the economy, the presidential race as well as Governor Baldacci's performance.

PolitickerME will provide more information on the latest poll once it is officially released.

UPDATED 

The Maine Supreme Court will rule by Monday on whether independent U.S. Senate candidate Herbert Hoffman can remain on the ballot. They heard arguments today.

The Maine Democratic Party had challenged the petitions of Hoffman on the grounds that he did not physically collect all the signatures, instead using assistants, but still signing his name on the back indicating that he had personally witnessed these signatures.

They first took the case to the Maine Secretary of State, and then appealed to the Maine Superior Court, both ruled against them. The Maine Supreme Court was the final option for appeal.

Hoffman is running against U.S. Rep. Tom Allen, D-Portland, and incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, R-Bangor.

The arguments mirrored those made in Superior Court earlier this month.

They've used the traditional means - newspaper and television ads - however opponents of the Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the Card Check legislation, are on the ground in Maine convincing Mainers not to vote for the candidates that support the legislation.

The EFCA seeks to make it easier for workers to organize, but has drawn criticism because it takes away the private ballot process in unions.

U.S. Rep. Tom Allen, who is running for Senate, and Chellie Pingree, who is running in the First Congressional District, both support the legislation.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins has two ads that will start airing tonight. In the ads she talks about her bipartisan record.

In addition, the National Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has made a $5 million ad buy in the state to support Collins’ Democratic opponent Tom Allen, AdAge reported this week.

The DSCC is also contributing thousands to Maine’s Democratic State Committee, which funds their coordinated campaign. As of the last finance report, the DSCC had given $460,425 to the committee. The Democratic National Committee has given $24,800 to the party.

Maine’s Democratic Coordinated Campaign has 25 offices and about 50 paid staffers.

Maine’s Republican Party is also seeing federal money, albeit far less. The Republican National Committee has given them $26,500

Independent U.S. Senate candidate Herb Hoffman would have gladly attended the town hall meetings proposed by Democratic candidate Tom Allen, his campaign said today.

Allen had proposed four meetings in Maine’s smaller communities to talk about issues in this election. Collins declined, citing a full campaign schedule.

When asked about Hoffman, Allen’s Spokeswoman Carol Andrews told PolitickerME Tuesday, “We are running against Susan Collins so we invited her.”

An e-mail from the Hoffman campaign read:

Today's press release conveys Dr. Hoffman's disappointment that the four town meetings in August were cancelled. 

Ah, Herb, you were never invited.

Sen. Susan Collins declined the opportunity to attend four town hall meetings with opponent Tom Allen this August, citing the lateness of his invitation.

In a letter to Allen she said her schedule is already full.

“I agree with your point about the importance of campaigning in Maine's smaller communities. I was reminded of how important that is when I joined Olympia Snowe and Mike Michaud at the Potato Blossom Festival in Fort Fairfield over the weekend,” Collins wrote in her response, listing all the towns and cities she has attended events in this year.

U.S. Senate candidate and current Rep. Tom Allen, D-Portland, will call for a series of town hall meetings in August with opponent Sen. Susan Collins, R-Bangor.

Allen will make the request publically at a press conference Tuesday.

"As I continue to travel to towns all across Maine, people ask how we can solve the big problems challenging them each day - the high costs of food and fuel, our health care crisis, Maine's economic struggles and how we bring our troops home safely from Iraq," Allen said in a prepared statement. "There is no better way for voters to have a candid discussion of the issues than in traditional town hall settings."

Maine’s Supreme Court will hear the final appeal of the Maine Democratic Party in their effort to remove independent U.S. Senate candidate Herb Hoffman from the ballot Thursday at 11 a.m.

In a brief conversation this weekend, Hoffman said the appeal was a pain but is confident in his case. In a short statement Monday, titled ‘Dems are still at it,” he urged spectators to attend.

The Democrats have been trying to remove Hoffman from the ballot since June 9, when Chairman John Knutson first filed a petition with the Secretary of State’s Office contesting Hoffman’s candidacy.

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.......