Ex-Gov. Baldacci won't run for US Senate in Maine

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) ? Former Gov. John Baldacci on Wednesday became the third prominent Democrat to bow out of the high-profile race for a U.S. Senate seat that Democrats were given a shot at winning following Republican Olympia Snowe's decision to retire.

Baldacci joined Democratic Reps. Chellie Pingree and Mike Michaud in forgoing a race that became more complicated with the entry of independent former Gov. Angus King, widely recognized as the front-runner in a three-way race.

For Baldacci, the decision came down to family. He didn't want to relocate his family because his wife has a job in Bangor and his son is a student at the University of Maine. He also didn't like the idea of traveling back and forth between Washington and Maine as he did during eight years in the U.S. House.

"That's really what it came down to. You can take the boy out of Maine, but you can't take Maine out of the boy. It may be a shortcoming on my part, but it's one that I've embraced," the Bangor native told The Associated Press.

Snowe's announcement two weeks ago that she wouldn't seek a fourth term because of partisanship and polarization in the Senate forced potential candidates to make quick decisions. They have only until Thursday to submit 2,000 signatures necessary to get on the June primary ballot.

Within 24 hours, Pingree announced she was collecting signatures. But Michaud surprised observers by quickly announcing he'd defend his House seat instead of running for Senate. Pingree followed suit a day after King announced he would be running, vowing as an independent to work with both parties to reach consensus.

King's entry caused Democrats to think twice in a state where there are more unenrolled voters than in either of the major parties.

"King's decision to enter created a strong independent candidate that complicated the electoral calculus, and the leading Democratic contenders decided this was going to be a much more difficult race than they thought at first blush," said Anthony Corrado, professor of government at Colby College.

Without better-known candidates, Democrats are hurting their prospects for winning the seat Democrats initially thought they had good odds of winning, said Ethan Strimling, a political analyst and Democratic activist in Portland.

If Democratic donors pull back, then Democrats run the risk of finishing third as they did in 2010 when tea party-backed Republican Paul LePage was elected governor, followed by independent Eliot Cutler and Democrat Libby Mitchell, Strimling said.

"Democrats are putting themselves in a very precarious position," he said.

But it's precisely the scenario of a three-way race that strikes fear into some Democrats, who believe King and Democrats could split the vote in a way that gives an advantage to Republicans, who're seeking to regain control of the Senate.

Democrats and Republicans faced a deadline of Thursday for submitting petitions.

Four Democrats previously announced they were running for the seat. One of them, former Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, submitted his petitions on Wednesday. Among Republicans, at least five candidates had declared interest.

Baldacci, who served as governor from 2003 to 2011 after leaving Congress, said Wednesday that it was a tough decision about whether to run for Senate. When he served in Congress, his family stayed behind in Maine, where his wife was a teacher and his son was a middle school student. He said he didn't want to do that again because he missed his family, but he also wasn't willing to uproot them to move to Washington.

"It's just not something that I'm prepared to do," he said.

Baldacci, 57, said he's frustrated by the gridlock in Congress and inaction on important issues like energy independence, health care and the economy, and he wants to remain involved in attempting to make changes.

"We're going to work to improve the economy and the environment and the future for our children, and we're going to be able to make changes. We're just going to be doing it from Maine," he said.

The possibility that Baldacci, Pingree and Michaud might run has overshadowed efforts by Democratic candidates who previously announced they were in the race.

"I got into this race last year for some very specific reasons around improving the economy and helping people see better prospects for their future," Dunlap said in Augusta. "That hasn't changed regardless of who has said they're in and who's said they're out."

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Associated Press writer Glenn Adams in Augusta contributed to this report.

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Follow Sharp on Twitter at https://twitter.com/David_Sharp_AP.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ex-gov-baldacci-wont-run-us-senate-maine-152613140.html

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