Posted on 12/06/2017 3:59:08 PM PST by Hojczyk
President Donald Trump is pushing Maine Gov. Paul LePage to run for the U.S. Senate, according to White House advisers.
Trump has told advisers he plans to call LePage, the bombastic governor who endorsed him in February 2016, and ask him to jump in against Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, in 2018 — and that he would endorse him. King is an independent who often caucuses with Democrats.
White House officials have been in touch with LePage’s political team in recent weeks, according to two people with knowledge of the talks.
LePage came up again Tuesday at a White House meeting on Senate candidates, as Trump and his team went through a list of states and races — including Arizona, Missouri and Maine — the officials said, looking at individual candidates and poll numbers and what candidates could get in the races.
Trump was cautioned from making too many major decisions because the field is so fluid, according to one Republican with knowledge of the talks. Among the discussions in the meeting was Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., and whether she will get in the Senate race, and whether the president would support her, according to a person with knowledge of the talks.
“The president is actively engaged in fundraising, candidate recruitment and other efforts to help elect Republicans up and down the ballot,” said Raj Shah, a White House spokesman. He declined to comment on the LePage conversations, calling them private.
LePage’s approval rating in Maine is 42 percent, according to Morning Consult, ranking him the seventh least popular governor in the country.
(Excerpt) Read more at sunjournal.com ...
I would like to see this.
If LePage runs as a Republican, and King stays Ind., do the Democrats run nobody, or do they draw votes from King? Last time they ran a Dem who drew 13%.
He is in the Democrat caucus..."often caucuses" - who writes this stuff?
well he is termed out as governor, sounds good to me, we can use another outspoken man who came from nothing to success.
Good Q!
King has won three state-wide races as an independent. This will make number 4.
King is a pompous, arrogant, obnoxious, condescending dirtbag.
Ditto.
And those are his good qualities!
Senator Dirtbag. Now and in 2019.
But the Republican brand is death in large areas of the nation.
Trump needs a ballot line of his own, for pro-Trump Members and Senators to run on.
“King has won three state-wide races as an independent. This will make number 4.”
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I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Gov. LePage is not popular with the moonbat democrats, but the GOP here in Maine loves him and so do a lot of independents.
Maine’s Second Congressional District covers 80% of Maine. That’s 27,000 square miles, the largest Congressional District east of the Mississippi River. Donald Trump carried this district by 10 points in November 2016....he has a lot of support here.
Gov. LePage would have a good chance at unseating the liberal Angus King. I don’t believe any Maine Republican other than LePage would have a chance.
Anus King is a screaming liberal, and a carpetbagger from VA.
I think Angus is dead meat in this scenario.
King took more than 50% of the vote in his last two races even though they were three way races. LePage won only because he was in three way races. King has to be the favorite in this one.
For people who think that Jesse Ventura is middle of the road, he once said that he would choose King as his VP if he ever ran for president.
That would be great....yes...a win for Maine and America...
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