Independent former Gov. Angus King has gotten all the national attention in the race to replace Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), but the Democratic and Republican primaries are tomorrow. I caught up with state Treasurer Bruce Poliquin, a conservative running in the GOP primary.
Poliquin says he feels good about his chances tomorrow, praising his volunteers for their energy. He praises Snowe as a “hard worker” who feels strongly that there is “too much partisanship” in Washington, but says he takes a different view. He disagrees with the incumbent on the stimulus — which he says “didn’t work” — and the bailouts. Snowe played a key role in getting the Obama stimulus through the Senate.
Poliquin emphasizes his record reducing public pension debt by $1.7 billion and argues that he is not a “career politician” like some of his opponents, but rather someone with 35 years of private sector experience. He says that the reforms he and Gov. Paul LePage (who is neutral in the primary) have championed in Maine can work in Washington. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.