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slothlax's avatar

But he's not a Democrat. Democrats in Maine are not all that successful statewide.

I'll take Golden over Collins and I don't know that some liberal Democrat would have a better chance.

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Zero Cool's avatar

Keep in mind that it was for a long time Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins in the Senate. Both first took office in the mid 90’s and served together for 15 years.

When Snowe retired in 2012, Angus King running for the Senate made it more difficult for Democrats as he was a popular Governor prior to that. If Democrats have to challenge an incumbent GOP Senator or a popular politician like King running as an Independent, the task of winning a Senate seat is made much harder.

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michaelflutist's avatar

You mean if they don't have an open seat, don't you?

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Zero Cool's avatar

Yes, an open Senate seat makes it much easier for Democrats to win.

If Angus King didn’t run for the Senate back in 2012, the Senate race for Democrats would have likely been much easier for them. 2012 was a high turnout election as opposed to 2010 and 2014.

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michaelflutist's avatar

You said it was much harder for Democrats to win if they don't have an incumbent GOP senator.

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Zero Cool's avatar

I had to re-edit my original comment. Not sure what happened there.

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michaelflutist's avatar

Simple: You meant to write much easier.

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michaelflutist's avatar

I think it's quite intuitive that Golden would have the best chance, and yes, it's so difficult to beat Collins that any potential edge is worth it.

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