WASHINGTON — After winning a state Senate seat last year, Democrat Cynthia Dill of Cape Elizabeth says she is considering a run this year for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Olympia Snowe of Maine.
Dill, who won her District 7 state Senate seat in a May special election, said Sunday on her blog that “against all odds” she is considering a U.S. Senate bid.
There already are two Democrats seeking their party’s nomination for a U.S. Senate run: former Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap of Old Town and state Rep. Jon Hinck of Portland.
“Am I crazy? I want America to educate our children, protect our seniors, reward our veterans and keep people healthy and safe,” Dill said on her blog.
Dill is asking people to let her know on Facebook whether they think she should enter the U.S. Senate contest.
In an email Monday to a reporter, Dill said she is getting positive feedback from most of the “hundreds of people” who have responded to her blog post, but she did not specify a time frame for making a decision.
“My intention is to take the pulse of the Maine electorate and hear from as many people as possible about what we can do to change things in Washington, where middle-class American families are no longer served,” Dill wrote.
Snowe, who is seeking a fourth term in the Senate, is being challenged in the GOP primary by two Republicans affiliated with the tea party movement, Scott D’Amboise of Lisbon Falls and Andrew Ian Dodge of Harpswell. Snowe won re-election in 2006 with 74 percent of the vote.
The National Journal’s Hotline politics site in December ranked Snowe’s seat 19th on a list of 20 potential Senate seats possibly in play in the fall, saying it did not consider Snowe vulnerable.
“The lack of a real, well-funded challenger from the right makes Snowe a safe bet in the primary. Democrats have two credible contenders duking it out for the nomination, and with it the right to lose to the incumbent,” said the Hotline assessment.
Dill was a three-term state representative before she won the special election to replace Democrat Larry Bliss, who resigned to take a job in California.
MaineToday Media Washington Bureau Chief Jonathan Riskind can be contacted at 791-6280 or at: jriskind@mainetoday.com
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