ME-SEN

Poll: Olympia Snowe Could Win Reelection -- As An Independent

Jon Terbush | March 9, 2011, 1:36PM

Maine Republicans aren't so keen on nominating Sen Olympia Snowe (R) for another reelection bid. But if Snowe does get dumped by her own party in a primary election, a PPP poll of registered voters shows that she could still cruise to reelection should she run as an Independent.

Earlier this week, PPP released a poll showing that only one quarter of Republicans in Snowe's home state think she should be considered a Republican, while a third said she was better described as a Democrat. Further, almost six in ten said they would probably vote for a more conservative candidate should one challenge Snowe in a primary.

Yet as the new release shows, Snowe garners plenty of support from Democratic voters, and could return to the Senate even if her own party dumps her in a primary next year.

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Olympia Snowe

Poll: Vast Majority Of ME GOPers Think Olympia Snowe Should Not Be A GOPer

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 8, 2011, 10:50AM

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

Well this is probably not a great sign for an incumbent Republican Senator facing reelection: a new poll of likely GOP primary voters in Maine shows more than 65% don't think Sen. Olympia Snowe belongs in the Republican party.

The outspoken moderate and sometime aisle-crosser apparently still has a long way to go before she convinces Republicans in Maine she's one of them. But the results of the poll show that against two potential primary rivals, Snowe still comes out on top.

The Public Policy Polling (D) survey of 434 "usual Maine Republican primary voters" found just 27% of them think Snowe "properly belongs in the Republican party." Thirty-four percent said she's best described as an independent, while 33% said Snowe's really more of a Democrat.

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Andrew Ian Dodge

Maine Tea Partier Announces Snowe Challenge At CPAC, Flaunts Birth Certificate

Jillian Rayfield | February 11, 2011, 5:45PM

Andrew Ian Dodge

Andrew Ian Dodge, a Maine tea party activist, announced at CPAC earlier today that he will challenge Sen. Olympia Snowe in the Republican primary in 2012, touting his slogan "Snowe has got to go" and flaunting his birth certificate, which he said was a response to accusations by his opponents that he is not a U.S. citizen.

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Olympia Snowe

Meet Olympia Snowe's New Hard Rocking Tea Party Challenger

Benjy Sarlin | February 11, 2011, 12:02PM

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

Maine moderate Olympia Snowe, whose Senate seat has long been considered vulnerable in a Republican primary, has a new Tea Party challenger: Andrew Ian Dodge.

The state coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots in Maine, Dodge told TPM he will announce his entrance into the race Friday at a press conference at CPAC. He'll be the second to jump into the GOP primary against Snowe after businessman Scott D'amboise declared his run last year.

You may not recognize Dodge's name, but if you've read news coverage of the Tea Party over the last year you've almost certainly seen him quoted. Dodge's friendly relationship with reporters and off-beat analysis has made him one of the most frequently cited activists in the movement by mainstream reporters.

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Olympia Snowe

Snowe Popular Among Maine Democrats, Not Republicans

Brian Beutler | September 10, 2010, 2:17PM

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

Nearly a year after she bucked Democrats on health care reform, Maine Republican Olympia Snowe is extremely popular in her home state... among Democrats.

According to new Public Policy Polling data, Snowe's high 50-40 approval ratings are due mostly to the fact that Democrats love her. Republicans, meanwhile, think she's basically just a Democrat. By a 50-37 margin, GOP voters say she'd be a better fit in the Democratic party. More than half of Republicans -- 51 percent -- disapprove of her while 40 percent give her high marks.

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Health Care

Pelosi: 'We Will Move Forward'

Rachel Slajda | January 20, 2010, 3:46PM

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

Speaking to the U.S. Conference of Mayors this morning, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed to "move forward" on health care reform in the wake of last night's special election.

"Heeding the particular concerns of the voters of Massachusetts, we heard, we will heed, we will move forward with their considerations in mind. But we will move forward," Pelosi said, according to Roll Call.

She also said the vote last night, which put another Republican in the Senate and ended the Democrats' super-majority, should tell Democrats that they needed to re-focus their message on what the health care bill will do.

"Clearly, the election results last night spell out that we have not been as clear about our deficit reduction measures. ... And that will change," she said.

ME-SEN

Is Snowe Popular Enough In Maine To Withstand Anger From The Right?

Eric Kleefeld | November 13, 2009, 4:35PM

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

With a new poll suggesting that Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) could potentially lose her 2012 Republican primary to a conservative challenger, does the political environment in Maine mean that she could be in real danger from the right, or that she might have to become an independent or even a Democrat?

Snowe's office has not returned out requests for comment. We spoke to Mark Brewer, an associate political science professor at the University of Maine, for the opinion and perspective of a local expert.

"Certainly the numbers among Republicans are a little surprising. It is certainly the case that the Maine Republican Party has a pretty significant faction within it that is relatively conservative, that has for a decent amount of time now looked at Sen. Snowe somewhat skeptically, I guess -- and that's probably being charitable to a certain degree," said Brewer. "So the fact that there's anger within the Maine GOP at Snowe isn't surprising. The fact that the figure among the Republican primary figure, and the fact that there were 59%-31% in favor of a conservative challenge, that surprised me a little bit."

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Olympia Snowe

Family Research Council PAC: We Would Support A Primary Against Olympia Snowe

Eric Kleefeld | November 11, 2009, 5:40PM

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

I just spoke to Connie Mackey, president of the Family Research Council Action PAC, and she told me that if a conservative candidate were to emerge to run against Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) in the 2012 Republican primary, FRC Action will back them.

"Well of course there is an audience that would love to see Olympia Snowe out of office, within the ranks of social conservatives, that's for certain," said Mackey.

A new survey from Public Policy Polling (D) found that a generic conservative challenger would lead the moderate Snowe in a Republican primary by a whopping 59%-31% margin.

"I think a couple years ago, we wouldn't have thought it was possible," said Mackey. "However, those numbers are interesting, and I think those numbers might just track the fact that a lot of Americans are waking up to the liberal policies, what they mean and how they're playing out. And it may be affecting her, with her votes for the stimulus, and breaking from her party. And we would like to see a conservative have a chance to remove her from office up there."

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Olympia Snowe

Poll: Snowe Could Lose 2012 GOP Primary In Landslide To Conservative Challenger

Eric Kleefeld | November 10, 2009, 11:07AM

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

A new survey of Maine from Public Policy Polling (D) has some dire news for Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), with the moderate Republican potentially losing her 2012 Republican primary against a generic conservative challenger -- and by a landslide, no less.

The numbers: Conservative challenger 59%, Snowe 31%, with a ±4.8% margin of error. It is of course a long way from the idea of a generic conservative challenger to having an actual candidate, but the potential for success by just such an insurgent is certainly there.

Snowe's overall approval is 51%, to 36% disapproval. Democrats approve of her by 60%-29%, Republicans disapprove by 40%-46%, and independents approve by 51%-33%.

The pollster's analysis notes the importance of her vote for a health care bill in the Senate Finance Committee: "Snowe's numbers are steady with independents but down with both Democrats and Republicans compared to three weeks ago, an indication of the perilous political position she finds herself in. Republicans are mad at her for supporting any Democratic bill, while Democrats still are not completely happy with her because of her hesitance to support a public option."