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Kavanaugh Dissent Turns Focus Back to Susan Collins

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“Democrats and liberal groups on Friday pointed to a Supreme Court ruling in an abortion case to argue that Justice Brett Kavanaugh would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, focusing their ire on Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican who supported Kavanaugh’s nomination last year and faces a tough 2020 reelection,” the Washington Post reports.

“The outcry from the left follows the court’s 5-to-4 vote to block a restrictive Louisiana abortion law… While Democrats hailed the decision, they pointed to Kavanaugh’s dissent as a sign that he is poised to side with conservatives in future rulings on abortion rights.”

Collins Built War Chest From Brett Kavanaugh Vote

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Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) “had the best fundraising quarter of her life in 2018, boosted in part by her decision to support Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court,” the HuffPost reports.

“Collins raised $1.8 million in the last quarter of the year, but just $19,000 of that money came in itemized donations ― contributions of $200 or more ― from residents of Maine.”

Effort to Unseat Susan Collins Is Underway

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Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) “was already one of the Democrats’ biggest Senate targets in 2020 when she took to the Senate floor Friday to announce she would vote to confirm Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. But Collins’ decision to back the Supreme Court nominee after he was accused of sexual assault was instantly controversial with not only the hundreds of activists who flooded the Capitol this week but also with Democratic activists in her home state of Maine who have opposed Kavanaugh’s nomination for weeks,” CNN reports.

“By the time she finished her speech, Democrats in Maine had begun speculating who might challenge the moderate Republican. And progressive activists are pouring in money to fund the eventual challenger, raising millions of dollars online to unseat Collins.”

Voting for Kavanaugh Could Hurt Collins In 2020

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A new Public Policy Polling survey in Maine finds that if Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) votes for Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court, 47% of Maine voters said they would be less likely to vote for her when she runs for re-election, while 31% said they would be more likely to support her.

Key findings: 49% of Maine voters think Collins should vote against Kavanaugh and 56% don’t think she should vote on the nomination until there’s been a full review of Kavanaugh’s documents.

Trump Wants LePage to Run for Senate

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President Trump is pushing Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) to run for the U.S. Senate, the Washington Post reports.

“Trump has told advisers he plans to call Mr. LePage, the bombastic governor who endorsed him in February 2016, and ask him to jump in against Sen. Angus King (I-ME) in 2018 — and that he would endorse him. King is an independent who often caucuses with Democrats.”

LePage Won’t Run for Senate

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Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) will not enter the 2018 race for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Sen. Angus King (I-ME), the Portland Press Herald reports.

“LePage started talking publicly as early as 2015 about mounting a challenge to King, an independent who was Maine’s governor from 1995 to 2003.  But in a statement issued late Wednesday, his political adviser, Washington, D.C.- based Brent Littlefield, said the Republican governor, who will turn 69 in October, feels he could better serve his constituents by remaining focused on the duties of governor.”

Landrieu May Help Some GOP Senators with Re-Election

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Former Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) plans to spend some of the nearly $150,000 left in her campaign fund to help former Senate colleagues run for re-election, the Shreveport Times reports.

Landrieu said she also will contribute some leftover campaign money to Republicans: “I’m not opposed to helping one or two of my Republican friends that have helped Louisiana — if they ask. They haven’t asked yet.”

She specifically named Rob Portman of Ohio, who is up for re-election next year, and Susan Collins of Maine, who is up in 2020.

Angus King Has Prostate Cancer

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Sen. Angus King (I-ME) announced he would “undergo surgery later this week to remove prostate cancer,” the Bangor Daily News reports.

Said King: “I’m looking forward to a full recovery and to continuing my service in the Senate. And no, this does not affect my intention to run for re-election, except my poor little prostate won’t be along for the ride.”

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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