Posted on 02/12/2013 10:39:05 AM PST by cotton1706
Of the 14 Republican senators up for reelection in 2014, just one represents a state carried by Barack Obama — Maine’s Susan Collins.
Between the state’s Democratic leanings, and GOP grumbling over her moderate voting record, Collins would seem likely to get a tough challenge from either the left or the right — or both.
Roll Call reports, however, that the reelection outlook for the three-term senator couldn’t be much better.
Maine Sen. Susan Collins is a Republican in a state that’s not. She’s moderate and bipartisan in a party that’s not.
Yet it would be tough for her to be any safer, politically, as she looks toward reelection in 2014.
“She may be the strongest Republican incumbent in the country,” GOP consultant Erik Potholm, who hails from Maine, wrote in an email. “She has sky high approval numbers and has become a political rock star in Maine …”
“I think she’s fine,” said Maine political consultant Dennis Bailey, who is a registered Democrat. “I don’t see any vulnerability.”
Safe from a real Democratic challenge, Collins’s vulnerability from the right also appears marginal.
I thought Snowe chose not to run, he ran against King.
“Maine Sen. Susan Collins is a Republican in a state that’s not.”
And she voted for an Affordable Health Care Act that’s not.
When Politico and democratic political consultants endorse a Republican, beware.
Nautically, port is left, so Portland couldn’t be better named.
He announced that he was going to challenge Snowe in the primary. Next thing you know, she decided to retire. Because she would have lost the primary and given him prestige. So she did what she could for the democrats as she always has. Because conservatives to her are odious and causing all the problems in the previously fun, go-along get-along senate.
No she did not. For all of her faults, that wasn’t one of them. She voted for the stimulus.
No GOPer, except for Rep Cao (R-LA), voted for the AHCA.
Thank you!
Snowe voted Aye to get the AHCA out of committee. She is just as responsible. It’s an old trick.
Snowe is awful, but as conservatives, our bigger problems are the moderates from red states, wasting a shot to get good people in there. Maine is Maine and Mass is Mass, but having Cornyn from Texas, Graham from SC, McCain from Arizona, McConnell from Kentucky, Burr from NC, etc...THOSE are what kills us.
Her party isn’t bipartisan or moderate???
The democrats that threw Joe Lieberman out as too “conservative”, they are???
Snowe was gong to have a primary against a very strong tea party candidate (Scott D”Amboise).
Snowe expected Summers to endorse her prior to the primary. He indicated he would not.
She then chose to not run for re-election. Charlie was the first of 5 to file papers for the primary.
As a result a lot of old money in the state stayed away, Snowe did not endorse him even after the primary.
Nobody I know has come forth to challenge Collins yet.
The talk in Republican circles is geared at getting Gov Lepage re-elected. There is an undercurrrent of discontent with Collins voting record.
As we have seen with the King, Cutler, Snowe events in the recent past, things here in Maine can change overnight.
Her party isn’t bipartisan or moderate???
The democrats that threw Joe Lieberman out as too “conservative”, they are???
I agree, and challenging moderates across the board will force other moderates to vote conservative or be thrown out. For two years Orrin Hatch voted in lockstep with Mike Lee. Why? Because his buddy Bob Bennett was thrown out of office. Lindsay Graham has been all tough and conservative lately because he needs to shore himself up. Saxby Chambliss came out for tax increases. Next thing you know, he had potential primary challenges and he’s now retiring. Charlie Summers decided to challenge Olympia Snowe and she retired. Mitch McConnell is all of a sudden standing up to Obama and standing with conservatives (instead of with Obama and against conservatives as he did two years ago).
Every moderate in every state needs to be challenged, to scare the hell out of the rest of them. Because we ARE taking note of your votes. In the mean time, the democrats will have a harder time getting “bipartisan” cover for their bills.
Ok. Then I was confusing Summers with the guy who said he’d challenger her. I thought they were one and the same.
I didn’t know she didn’t endorse the republican but I’m not surprised. It may have just been tit for tat in her case but moderate republicans tend to be vengeful. Specter hated DeMint for endorsing Toomey. Chafee was glad the democrats won. Jeffords became an independent. Crist and Specter became democrats. Scozzafava endorsed the democrat. And on and on. That’s why these people need to be removed from power or be kept out of power. They are democrat handmaidens if not democrats in reality (Specter, Chafee, Crist and Scozzafava).
“No she did not. For all of her faults, that wasn’t one of them.”
My mistake! Thanks for the correction. I was thinking of that nail-biter when it was unclear whether it would be able to advance to a vote or not.
“She voted for the stimulus.”
I knew I was disgusted by her for something anyway.
Collins votes against the GOP over half the time...that’s not “moderate”, that’s liberal. But, since the other rinos you listed are out of office, she will likely wind up the same way.
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