Good morning from Augusta. Three Democrats are openly collaborating against Attorney General Janet Mills in the seven-way race for their party’s gubernatorial nomination and a Republican in the race wants to go it alone with the new ranked-choice voting system.
These are just two of the examples of how Maine’s pioneering voting system may be leading to changes in the way that some candidates campaign. Hanging over it all — for the moment — is a lawsuit from Republicans looking to stop it, which will be argued today.
What has been clear is indeed true: Other Democrats are trying to bring Mills down. At the Maine Democratic Party’s convention in Lewiston on Saturday, former House Speaker Mark Eves, attorney Adam Cote, lobbyist Betsy Sweet and state Sen. Mark Dion never mentioned Mills’ name, but they made similar attacks on her after a Bangor Daily News poll released in early May put Mills — the only candidate who has held statewide office — well ahead.
On Tuesday, Eves spokesman Will Ikard said the Eves, Cote and Sweet campaigns “have been talking about how we can, together, get the record out there” on Mills. Cote spokeswoman Monica Castellanos said the three campaigns “were ready” to do a joint event last week, but convention preparation stopped it. Michael Ambler, Mills’ campaign manager, said Eves is embracing “same brand of divisive, negative political tactics” as Gov. Paul LePage.
The County is pleased to feature content from our sister company, Bangor Daily News. To read the rest of “How ranked-choice voting is changing Maine campaign strategy,” an article by contributing Bangor Daily News staff writer Michael Shepherd, please follow this link to the BDN online.
