Independent - Open Seat
Endorsed for U.S. Senate by Council for a Livable World

Maine is a unique state politically. The state has elected two independent candidates for governor in past decades and recently selected a majority of Ron Paul delegates to the Republican National Convention.

It also had an electoral earthquake in February when popular three-term Republican Senator Olympia Snowe announced her retirement due to her dissatisfaction with the highly partisan atmosphere in Washington, D.C.

Angus King, one of those independent governors, is running for Senator Snowe’s seat. The highly regarded Cook Political Report instantly called King the frontrunner for the seat.

Governor King is unique among all Senate candidates in 2012: he is the only independent who is running ahead in the polls over both major party candidates.

There are four Democrats and six Republicans vying for their party’s nomination in Maine. None is as well known as the two-term Governor. Major Democratic office holders declined to run.

King is the most prominent and best known of the candidates running for U.S. Senate in the state. In an April survey by Maine’s People Research Center, King leads with 56% of the vote compared to 22% and 12% for the two major party nominees. Amazingly, the former governor receives 67% support among independents, 61% among Democrats and 38% among Republicans.

King starts out with such a wide lead because of a very favorable image of his two terms as governor.

The kicker in this contest is that King has not decided, if he is elected in November, with which party he will caucus in the United States Senate. Asked about the question, King has said,"My preference is to remain as independent as I can for as long as I can, and if I can fully participate in the activities of the Senate as an independent, that’s where I’ll stay, voting my conscience, best judgment, and the interests of Maine. If the rules end up requiring some affiliation with a caucus for full participation (like committee membership, for example), then that's what I'll do--but a big part of my decision will be based upon which caucus will allow me the most independence and the minimum of party control.”

While King has not indicated which party he will caucus with if elected, he has endorsed President Obama for re-election, as he did in 2008. But King also has endorsed Republican candidates for election. One of King’s first jobs, after graduating from Dartmouth College in 1966 and the University of Virginia Law School in 1969, was as chief counsel to the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Alcoholism and Narcotics in the office of Maine Democratic Senator William D. Hathaway.

Angus King is a social liberal on such issues as abortion and the environment and a fiscal conservative. He supports the President’s health care overhaul and opposes GOP-led efforts to cut federal funding for Planned Parenthood. He agrees with Obama's policy that compels insurance companies to cover contraception for employees of religious-affiliated institutions and supports marriage equality. He has argued: “If I had to reduce my ideology to a bumper sticker it would be ‘I call 'em as I see 'em.’”

King began his career as a staff attorney for Pine Tree Legal Assistance in Skowhegan, Maine. After his service in Washington, D.C., he returned to Maine to practice law and began his 18-year career as host and co-producer of the weekly television program “Maine Watch” on the Maine Public Broadcasting Network.

In 1983, King became vice-president of an alternative energy development company based in Portland and Boston. Six years later he founded Northeast Energy Management, Inc., a developer of large-scale energy conservation projects at commercial and industrial facilities in Maine.

He was first elected governor in 1994, becoming Maine’s second independent governor. Four years later, he was reelected by one of the largest margins of victory in the state’s history.

After he left office, King practiced law and became a Distinguished Lecturer at Bowdoin College where he taught a class called “Leaders and Leadership.” He also started Independence Wind to develop wind projects in Maine.

Angus King is a candidate who advocates sensible national security positions. He supports further nuclear reductions negotiated with Russia and would vote to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. He has endorsed the Kissinger-Schulz-Nunn-Perry vision of moving toward a world free of nuclear weapons. He supports the Obama plan to withdraw a significant number of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, with the remainder out by 2014. He advocates continuing dialogue with Iran.

The Maine Senate election is unique in this country. Angus King is running as a different kind of politician and there is concrete evidence from his political history and his current stances that this is true. His election to the Senate would bring a fresh, if not unique, perspective to the U.S. Senate. If you agree, please make your check payable to:

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