Progressives demand Gov. LePage challenge King for U.S. Senate

Maine Governor Paul LePage testifies before a U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee hearing to review draft legislation on hydropower, on Capitol Hill in Washington May 13, 2015.  REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Maine Governor Paul LePage – Reuters | Jonathan Ernst

Governor Paul LePage has been suggesting that he will run for U.S. Senate against Angus King in 2018 for months, and has been roundly mocked for just as long.

His latest statement that he is giving the idea “very serious thought,” however, has prompted a new response. More than a hundred Maine progressives have signed a MoveOn.org petition asking LePage to make the race, not because they want to see him representing Maine in Washington, but because they think it would be hilarious to see him lose to the popular, independent incumbent.

“Your opponents deserve the delicious schadenfreude of watching the Hindenberg-level disaster that a LePage Senate campaign will deliver,” reads the petition. “I would like to see Paul LePage fail himself as opposed to repeatedly failing the citizens of Maine.”

Given their respective approval ratings, a LePage challenge to King seems destined to be unsuccessful, but at least one political observer isn’t so sure. In his syndicated column this week, Al Diamon notes that LePage has already begun spreading lies about King’s record, to which the senator doesn’t deem it necessary to respond.

“The guv is already in full campaign mode. Unless King makes a similar shift, it’s not that farfetched to imagine LePage taking his seat on the Senate floor in 2018,” writes Diamon.

I guess we should be careful what we petition for.

Mike Tipping

About Mike Tipping

Mike is Maine's longest-writing political blogger and explores state politics and policy with a focus on analysis and explanation. He works at the Maine People's Alliance and Maine People's Resource Center.