Tag Archives: Phil Bartlett

Democrats again worry that independent ‘spoiler’ will give Blaine House to GOP

Many Democrats would like an independent gubernatorial candidate to drop out, fearing that she’ll hand the governor’s mansion to another Republican.

LePage to Trump: Put somebody in charge

Good morning from Augusta, where Gov. Paul LePage said on Thursday that President Donald Trump may have too many high-level aides vying for control in an embattled White House. The Republican president is dealing with a few different crises less than a month into his tenure, with the biggest involving the resignation of National Security […]

Will the Sanders faction gain more traction in the Maine Democratic Party?

Good morning from Augusta. We’re watching the upcoming battle this weekend over leadership of the Maine Democratic Party after the election that saw President-elect Donald Trump win the 2nd Congressional District. That historic split of Maine’s electoral votes has roiled Democrats, whose state committee will vote on Sunday on whether or not to replace party Chairman Phil Bartlett. […]

Maine Democratic Party leader will have to fight to keep job

Good morning from Augusta, where Tuesday’s election is already providing fallout for Maine Democratic Party Chairman Phil Bartlett. Outgoing state Rep. Diane Russell, D-Portland, confirmed late Wednesday that she’ll run to replace Bartlett at the state committee’s next meeting on Nov. 20, while term-limited House Majority Leader Jeff McCabe, D-Skowhegan, said he’s considering a run. In a […]

What to make of Susan Collins’ stand against Donald Trump

Good morning from Augusta. All eyes are on U.S. Sen. Susan Collins after her bombshell Washington Post op-ed that said she won’t vote for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. She’s one of only a few Republican senators to make that pronouncement so far, including Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. The only prominent Maine Republican before her to […]

How Maine’s Democratic delegation is making noise in Philly

Good morning from Portland. This weekend, we told you why Maine’s Bernie Sanders-heavy delegation matters at the Democratic National Convention, starting this week, in Philadelphia. Today, we’ll tell you how they’ve been on the edge of anti-establishment dissent so far. The convention, where Hillary Clinton will be nominated to run against Republican Donald Trump in November, […]

Now that primaries are over, where do Maine superdelegates stand?

Maine Democratic Party Chairman Phil Bartlett ended months of speculation about who his Democratic National Convention superdelegate vote will go to when he said through a spokeswoman Thursday that he will support Hillary Clinton. Bartlett is the only one of Maine’s five superdelegates who had not previously voiced his preference. “Secretary Clinton has secured the votes for the […]

Maine Democrats to consider superdelegate changes at state convention

Good morning from Augusta, where Democrats rejected a last-minute budget maneuver from Gov. Paul LePage and House Republicans that had the State House halls buzzing on Thursday. The proposal wasn’t released by Republicans, but Democrats said it funded $18 million worth of bills — pay raises for law enforcement and direct care workers and jail funding — by […]

Big Sanders win in Maine does not flip state’s Clinton superdelegates

Amid all the hustle over the weekend associated with the Republican and Democratic caucuses, the only result that matters is how many delegates Maine sends to the national conventions in July. On the Republican side, Ted Cruz can expect 12 Maine delegates, followed by Donald Trump with nine and John Kasich with two. Those totals […]

Daily Brief: NAACP continuing call for discipline of Sen. Willette over Obama remarks

Good morning from Augusta, where the Legislature is capping off a busy week with a smattering of committee activity today. The House and Senate are not in session again until Tuesday. The saga of Republican Sen. Mike Willette of Presque Isle and his history of inflammatory Facebook posts continues today with an expected press conference […]