AUGUSTA – With just over one week to go before the June 8 election, candidates will be crisscrossing the state this week to scrape for every last vote.
Many of them will participate in Memorial Day parades and events today. But starting Tuesday, it’s back to barnstorming, leading up to what promises to be one of the most exciting elections in state history.
On Tuesday, Democrat Rosa Scarcelli will work the southern part of the state in Ogunquit and Kittery, while Republican Steve Abbott will be in Augusta, Gardiner and China in central Maine.
Some are making the rounds to mill gates, while others continue to attend house parties. And, there are three live televised debates this week.
From 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Republicans will debate live on WMTW. Democrats will follow Wednesday, also from 7 to 8 p.m. on WMTW.
Thursday night, Maine Public Broadcasting will host a live debate from 8 to 9 p.m. for Democrats.
Pollsters and others say a large number of people continue to be undecided leading up to Election Day. Here are the choices:
Democrats: Patrick McGowan, Senate President Elizabeth Mitchell, Steve Rowe and Rosa Scarcelli.
Republicans: Steve Abbott, Bill Beardsley, Matt Jacobson, Paul LePage, Peter Mills, Les Otten and Bruce Poliquin.
Scarcelli’s ‘Maine State Bank’
Scarcelli called for creation of a Maine State Bank last week as a way to keep state revenues available for lending to small businesses, farmers, student loans and other projects, according to her campaign.
She said there’s already a Bank of North Dakota, which has helped insulate that state from the economic downturn. Most of Maine’s money is in a large Canadian bank, with other funds in a Rhode Island bank that’s backed by the British government.
“Those banks then lend our deposits to their customers, to create jobs mostly outside of Maine,” she said.
Jacobson launching TV ad
Jacobson will launch a statewide television ad this week — his first, according to his campaign.
“Across America, this is an anti-establishment year!” he wrote in a fundraising e-mail.
“Voters are rejecting career politicians, political insiders and those who promote the same old solutions that haven’t been working.”
Beardsley and undecideds
Beardsley is organizing events to talk to people who haven’t yet made up their minds, according to his campaign.
He was at Dysart’s Truck Stop in Hermon last week for a meet-and-greet with undecided voters.
“Rather than surrounding himself with supporters in the final week of the primary, or spending evenings at fundraisers attended by people who are in a position to contribute to his campaign, Bill will spend the remainder of the campaign seeking out undecided voters,” his e-mail newsletter reported.
Courting the French
Scarcelli announced recently she has begun to air a radio ad in French.
Narrated by Connie Cote, host of “La Revue Francais” on WEZR in Lewiston, the ad highlights Scarcelli’s Maine roots and business experience, according to the campaign.
And LePage said in a debate Thursday that, although many with Franco roots have traditionally been Democrats, he’s got broad appeal.
“The one thing a French person likes more than a Democrat is another Frenchman,” he said.
Poll results
The admittedly unscientific poll results from the Maine People’s Alliance are out, and here are the winners: Rowe for Democrats and LePage for Republicans.
The straw poll drew 486 responses, according to the MPA. Only one vote was accepted from each cell number.
Here’s how the results broke down: Rowe, 50 percent; Mitchell, 25 percent; McGowan, 18 percent; and Scarcelli, 8 percent.
On the Republican side: LePage, 58 percent; Mills, 20 percent; Otten and Abbott, 7 percent; Poliquin, Beardsley and Jacobson, 2 percent.
Pan Atlantic poll this week
Patrick Murphy of Pan Atlantic SMS Group said he expects to release a poll this week tracking the candidates in the two gubernatorial primaries.
He said it’s been a bit of a challenge finding people who say they are going to vote in the primary. He needs 300 likely voters in each party for a valid sample, he said.
“We haven’t seen a lot of great enthusiasm,” he said.
From his perspective, there seems to be more excitement on the Republican side, which could drive up GOP turnout.
MaineToday Media State House Reporter Susan Cover can be contacted at 620-7015 or at:
scover@centralmaine.com
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