I don't believe being from Portland is a big issue in Maine. Candidates just need to appear authentic. Which is true regardless of where their home is.
Something like 40% of the state lives in the Portland metro area. Angus King lives in Brunswick, which is in the metro area and about 30 minutes from Portland proper.
I don't believe being from Portland is a big issue in Maine. Candidates just need to appear authentic. Which is true regardless of where their home is.
Something like 40% of the state lives in the Portland metro area. Angus King lives in Brunswick, which is in the metro area and about 30 minutes from Portland proper.
The thing is, Portland is the Democratic base, so if you want to appeal to swing voters, it would presumably be beneficial not to be too closely associated with Portland. King has the cachet of being an independent, which sets him apart.
Last year, before the election, I was on a group call with Angus King. I asked him whether he supported getting rid of the filibuster, at least for voting rights and abortion. He was against, but impressed me with a very thoughtful answer why he had moved from Yes to No.
I agree that he's real, but I don't get how you'd be impressed with a thoughtful answer on why undemocratic means should be usable in the Senate to sustain forced birth and discrimination against voters, if I understand you correctly.
Naturally he was strongly in favor of getting rid of forced birth, voter discrimination and suppression! No surprise there. Angus King’s point was how we would risk it being used against us when the shoe is on the other foot (if I have the idiom right). His answer was longer than that, but this was at the core of it.
People can appeal to swing voters regardless of where they are from. This isn't like NY where everyone outside of NYC hates NYC and erroneously thinks they are funding the city when it's actually the other way around. Portland is just Portland.
It's also not like ideological extremes are inherently disqualifying in Maine, as we can see by LePage being elected. Certainly we'd have better odds if we had a bog-standard democrat, and even better than that with a moderate one, but that doesn't mean the candidate has to come from outside Portland.
And there's also value in keeping your base on board. I think regional factors will largely be a wash in this type of state.
Your remarks about a lack of regional animosity are noted though different from what some other folks have stated on these boards before, but the fact that a Republican extremist was able to win twice is no kind of evidence that really leftist Democrats can win state-wide.
I don't believe being from Portland is a big issue in Maine. Candidates just need to appear authentic. Which is true regardless of where their home is.
Something like 40% of the state lives in the Portland metro area. Angus King lives in Brunswick, which is in the metro area and about 30 minutes from Portland proper.
The thing is, Portland is the Democratic base, so if you want to appeal to swing voters, it would presumably be beneficial not to be too closely associated with Portland. King has the cachet of being an independent, which sets him apart.
Last year, before the election, I was on a group call with Angus King. I asked him whether he supported getting rid of the filibuster, at least for voting rights and abortion. He was against, but impressed me with a very thoughtful answer why he had moved from Yes to No.
I like the guy. Totally real.
I agree that he's real, but I don't get how you'd be impressed with a thoughtful answer on why undemocratic means should be usable in the Senate to sustain forced birth and discrimination against voters, if I understand you correctly.
Naturally he was strongly in favor of getting rid of forced birth, voter discrimination and suppression! No surprise there. Angus King’s point was how we would risk it being used against us when the shoe is on the other foot (if I have the idiom right). His answer was longer than that, but this was at the core of it.
Which is what every other Democrat with his position would say.
People can appeal to swing voters regardless of where they are from. This isn't like NY where everyone outside of NYC hates NYC and erroneously thinks they are funding the city when it's actually the other way around. Portland is just Portland.
It's also not like ideological extremes are inherently disqualifying in Maine, as we can see by LePage being elected. Certainly we'd have better odds if we had a bog-standard democrat, and even better than that with a moderate one, but that doesn't mean the candidate has to come from outside Portland.
And there's also value in keeping your base on board. I think regional factors will largely be a wash in this type of state.
Your remarks about a lack of regional animosity are noted though different from what some other folks have stated on these boards before, but the fact that a Republican extremist was able to win twice is no kind of evidence that really leftist Democrats can win state-wide.