| Your Vote 2008 Senate Campaign Coverage on Maine Things Considered |
Senator Collins Prepares for Third Term
Reported By: A.J. Higgins Date Aired: 9/23/2008
Since arriving on the Maine political scene as a virtual unknown 14 years ago, Susan Collins has established herself among many voters as an independent-minded Republican senator with a conservative bent on fiscal matters and a more moderate stance on social issues. Born and raised in Aroostook County, Collins started out as a staffer for former Sen. Bill Cohen, and as she prepares to seek a third term in office, Collins is confident, but cautious. A.J. Higgins has this profile in the first of a series as part of MPBN's "Your Vote 2008" campaign coverage.
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Hoffman Still Plans to Run
Reported By: A.J. Higgins Date Aired: 9/9/2008
Herbert Hoffman says he will be on the November ballot as an independent candidate for the U.S. Senate -- but only if voters enter his name when they head to the polls. After losing a court challenge that questioned the validity of his nomination petitions, Hoffman now plans to take on incumbent Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic nominee Congressman Tom Allen.
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Allen Ties Collins to "Misleading" Ad
Reported By: A.J. Higgins Date Aired: 8/15/2008
Maine union leaders and the Tom Allen for Senate campaign are demanding that Republican Senator Susan Collins condemn an ad that depicts union members and the First District Democratic congressman as tools of organized crime mobsters. The ad is misleading according to critics who claim it distorts the intent of federal legislation crafted to make it easier for workers to organize a union. But, one Maine business advocate is convinced the so-called card check bill will encourage union bosses to intimidate workers into joining.
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Hoffman Seeks Stay of Signature Ruling
Reported By: A.J. Higgins Date Aired: 8/6/2008
An attorney for a retired Ogunquit psychologist who wants to be an independent candidate for the U.S. Senate is asking the state's highest court to stay a ruling that took his client off the ballot last month. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court concluded that Herbert Hoffman had not obtained enough signatures to appear on the fall ballot along with Democratic nominee Congressman Tom Allen and Republican incumbent Susan Collins. But John Branson, Hoffman's attorney, says the law court should set aside its ruling until his client can petition the United States Supreme Court for a review of the decision.
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Hoffman Decision Raises New Questions About Petition Drives
Reported By: A.J. Higgins Date Aired: 7/29/2008
One day after the Maine Supreme Court forced independent U.S. Senate candidate Herbert Hoffman off the fall ballot, aftershocks are being felt at the Secretary of State's Office where the phone is ringing off the hook. Elections officials say callers are raising questions about other candidates' petitions and whether their signatures were legally obtained. Although the deadline for challenges has passed, election officials and party activists predict the high court's ruling could spark dozens of signature-gathering lawsuits.
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Hoffman De-certified by High Court
Reported By: A.J. Higgins Date Aired: 7/28/2008
The state's highest court ruled today that the name of independent U.S. Senate candidate Herbert Hoffman will not appear on the November ballot. The ruling is a victory for the Maine Democratic Party, which has contended that Hoffman did not follow Maine law when circulating his nominating petitions earlier this year. Democratic party lawyers appealed an earlier Superior Court ruling in favor of Hoffman to the Maine Supreme Court. The goal, party leaders say, was to clarify what it means when a circulator takes a sworn oath when gathering signatures for a political candidate. Hoffman argued that the party was worried that he'd siphon votes away from the Democratic nominee, Congressman Tom Allen.
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Maine Democratic Party Ousts Hoffman Supporters
Reported By: A.J. Higgins Date Aired: 7/25/2008
Two members of the Maine Democratic Party's executive committee have been ejected from their posts for supporting Herbert Hoffman's independent bid for the U.S. Senate. Lu Bauer, of Brunswick, and David Bright, of Dixmont, circulated petitions for Hoffman whose effort to remain on the fall ballot was challenged by Democratic leaders Thursday before the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Bright says he's disappointed that the Maine Democratic Party seems to be ignoring some of its long-time institutions -- particularly those that encourage different points of view.
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Democrats Take Hoffman Challenge to Maine High Court
Reported By: A.J. Higgins Date Aired: 7/24/2008
The ongoing dispute between the Maine Democratic Party and state election officials over independent U.S. Senate candidate Herbert Hoffman's right to appear on the ballot spilled over to the state's highest court Thursday. Lawyers representing three different parties in the case argued over the validity of several signatures Hoffman collected to qualify for the state's fall ballot and whether he had upheld his sworn oath as a petition circulator. With only slightly more than 100 signatures needed to meet the state's threshold for the ballot, Hoffman could be taken out of the race by an adverse ruling from the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.
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McCain Makes Southern Maine Campaign Stops
Reported By: Tom Porter Date Aired: 7/21/2008
Republican presidential hopeful John McCain spent the day in Maine today, to raise money and drum up support in a state which has gone against the Republican party in the last four presidential elections.
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Allen Criticizes Collins For Failing To Prevent War Profiteering
Reported By: A.J. Higgins Date Aired: 6/23/2008
For months, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Tom Allen has maintained that if a Republican-controlled Congress had insisted on greater accountability five years ago, lawmakers could have prevented the loss of billions of dollars to war profiteers in Iraq. Now, new reports appear to bolster that claim. Allen says the U.S. House has initiated inquiries into war profiteering. He believes that it's time for the Senate to do the same.
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Ogunquit Independent Enters US Senate Race
Reported By: A.J. Higgins Date Aired: 5/29/2008
A retired Ogunquit psychologist is entering the race for the US Senate seat now held by Susan Collins. Herbert Hoffman today delivered more than 4,000 signatures to the Secretary of State's office. Hoffman, a long-time Democrat, dropped out of the party and plans to run as an independent in a race that already includes Democrat Tom Allen and Republican Susan Collins. The 75-year old progresive candidate chides both of his rivals for their views on Iraq and the Bush Administration.
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Tom Allen Endorses Sen. Barack Obama
Reported By: A.J. Higgins Date Aired: 5/12/2008
Congressman Tom Allen has announced he will support Illinois Sen. Barack Obama as the Democrats presidential nominee. That means half of Maine's eight so-called superdelegates have committed to Obama with Gov. John Baldacci the lone holdout for Senator Hillary Clinton. Allen says both candidates are "supremely qualified" to be president, but he believes it is time to bring a "graceful end" to the primary campaign.
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Allen Says Collins Campaign Ad Goes Too Far
Reported By: AJ Higgins Date Aired: 2/12/2008
Congressman Tom Allen says Sen. Susan Collins has gone too far in a recent fund-raising video that includes him in a series of images with MoveOn.org demonstrators. Allen says he does not share the beliefs of the protestors who are burning American flags and carrying banners proclaiming "we support our troops when they shoot their officers."
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Pollsters Say Strategy Change Needed in Allen Senate Campaign
Reported By: A.J. Higgins Date Aired: 1/23/2008
As Senator Susan Collins and 1st District Congressman Tom Allen inch closer to a center stage showdown in Maine's political arena, two pollsters from opposing political parties agree that Allen must change his strategy for defeating the Republican incumbent.
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