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Many journalists and political commentators have been pessimistic about the possibility of statehood for the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. This seems to be primarily because, despite the recent Democratic victories in Georgia, moderate senators like Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), Diane Feinstein (D-Calif), and Angus King (I-Maine) continue to support the legislative filibuster. It is impossible to imagine Republican senators voting to give Democratic-leaning areas full representation, so the issue must be dead on arrival in the upper chamber. But in a recent CNN interview, Manchin himself provided evidence for why this thinking is all wrong......."

Public schools reported a decrease in the number of students for the first time in 30 years, many of them in early grades. Enrollment in Colorado public schools dropped by close to 30,000 students this school year — the first year-to-year decrease the state’s public school system has reported in more than 30 years. ... The overall drop in enrollment equates to a 3.3% decrease, with some of Colorado’s 178 school districts suffering dips of nearly 10% from enrollment during the 2019-20 school year. That could have serious consequences for the state’s public education system and districts budgets, which are...

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, could be among the most influential lawmakers when the next Congress convenes in January -- with Senate Republicans holding a 52-48 majority at best. Collins’ position of prominence wasn’t certain. Polling before the election showed Democrats with a good chance of taking control of the Senate and polls showed her campaigning from behind against her Democratic opponent, Sara Gideon, Maine’s House speaker, who outspent her. But Democrats’ hopes for a blue wave crashed and Collins handily won her race by 9 points, a larger win than even she expected. “I was very gratified that the margin...

The Los Angeles Times featured a story on Thursday about a wedding in Maine, which the CDC believes “likely” caused a COVID-19 outbreak, to argue that people should reconsider their small holiday gatherings. “If you want to know why public health officials are so nervous about how much worse the COVID-19 pandemic will get as the holiday season unfolds, consider what happened after a single, smallish wedding reception that took place this summer in rural Maine,” the article states. The LA Times claims that while only 55 people were actually at the reception, one guest reportedly spread the virus before...

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine offered her congratulations to President-elect Joe Biden on his "apparent victory," saying Monday that he and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris "should be given every opportunity to ensure that they are ready to govern on January 20th." Collins, who won her own close race last week, is one of a handful Republicans who have congratulated Biden while President Donald Trump, who has yet to concede, continues to call the result of the election into question, without giving evidence to back up his claims of wrongdoing. Collins said Biden "loves this country, and I wish him every...

A Democratic effort is underway in at least 16 states to overturn restrictions on mail-in balloting and third-party ballot harvesting. A nationwide effort by Democrats is underway in at least 16 states to overturn restrictions on mail-in voting and third-party ballot harvesting. States where suits have been filed include the swing states of Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Florida. The effort is being backed by the National Redistricting Foundation, a Democratic group headed by the Obama administration’s Attorney General Eric Holder. The suits appear to be funded by Priorities USA, a Democratic super PAC. A Wall Street Journal headline from April read,...

Republican Senator Susan Collins, an independent-minded moderate, won a surprise re-election victory in Maine on Wednesday, strengthening her party’s chances of retaining control of the U.S. Senate. Collins, 67, turned back one of the strongest challenges in her career as she defeated Democrat Susan Gideon, 48, the speaker of the Maine State House of Representatives. “I feel that this is an affirmation of the work that I’m doing in Washington to fight hard every day for the people of Maine,” Collins told reporters. Gideon said she called Collins to concede. “I congratulated her on winning this election, and I told...

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@PpollingNumbers #BREAKING Susan Collins (R-Inc) says Sara Gideon (D) called her to concede the race. Maine Senate over, Collins reelected.

An Emerson College poll conducted between October 29 and 31 showed Gideon with a 48 percent to 42 percent lead over Collins, and 61 percent of supporters of both Savage and independent Max Linn, polling at 5 percent and 1 percent, respectively, would back Gideon on their second choice. Collins entered the Senate in 1997 as one of Maine’s two independently minded Republican women senators alongside Olympia Snowe. The junior senator survived in the New England state as a politically savvy member of the GOP in a liberalizing region by touting her independence and reasonableness, but the tension between her...

President Donald Trump and Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden are in a dead heat as they vie for the one electoral vote in Maine’s Second Congressional District, according to a poll released Thursday. While Biden maintains a double-digit lead statewide, the poll found his lead slimmed down to within the margin of error, 49 percent to 46 percent, in the state’s rural Second District, placing the candidates in a statistical tie there. The poll was conducted by SurveyUSA and commissioned by FairVote October 23–27, notably overlapping with several campaign appearances, including from Trump himself in a surprise visit Sunday; Biden’s...

#MESen: Gideon (D) 46% Collins (R-inc) 45% Savage (I) 4% Linn (I) 1% 2-Way: Gideon (D) 51% Collins (R-Inc) 49% SurveyUSA 10/23-10/27

Maine voters also favor Vice President Joe Biden over President Trump, 51-38 percent, although Biden's lead shrinks to 4 points in the 2nd Congressional District. In what could be one of the final polls of the U.S. Senate race before Election Day, Democrat Sara Gideon continues to hold a narrow 3-point lead over Republican incumbent Susan Collins among likely Maine voters. A survey of 879 individuals, developed and fielded by Colby College of Waterville, revealed that 46.6 percent of voters said they plan to vote for Gideon, compared to 43.4 percent for Collins. Independents Lisa Savage and Max Linn received...

Republicans Collins, Murkowski, and Romney vote Yea. All Republicans vote yes. Kamala Harris not present and not voting. All Democrats vote No.

Meet the new Justice of the Supreme Court -- Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Amy Coney Barrett has been CONFIRMED to the Supreme Courton a Party line vote. 52-48. One Republican turned her back and voted with the Democrats, Susan Collins of Maine. Congratulations to Justice Barrett and may God Bless the United States of America!

The supermarket chain has now issued a full product recall.A man has been arrested after he was reportedly caught putting razor blades into pizza dough that was then sold to customers, according to the Saco Police Department in Maine. The incident occurred on Oct. 6 when the Saco Hannaford Supermarket, located in Saco, Maine, near to both Kennebunkport and Portland, notified the Saco Police Department regarding a suspected food tampering incident. The customer had reportedly purchased a Portland Pizza Pie Dough and then later found an undisclosed number of razor blades inside the product, according to a statement by the...

PITTSFIELD (WGME) -- Senator Susan Collins says she will vote against Judge Amy Coney-Barrett being elected to the Supreme Court. Sen. Collins releases statement on Supreme Court Vacancy "It's not a comment on her,” Collins said. “It is a comment on the process of rushing through a nomination in such a short time before a presidential election." Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski also said she will be a no vote for the same reason. To block the confirmation, two more senators would have to vote against Coney-Barrett, but Republicans have said they have the votes.

Textron Systems announced Thursday that it will deliver an all-electric version of its M5 Ripsaw Robotic Combat Vehicle prototype to the U.S. Army for experimentation next year. Earlier this year, the Army selected a Textron team to develop its subsidiary Howe & Howe's unmanned vehicle for the service's Robotic Combat Vehicle, or RCV, Medium platform. The Army wants to develop a light, medium and heavy version of the RCV to give commanders the option of sending unmanned vehicles into combat against enemy forces. The service selected QinetiQ North America to build four light versions of the RCV. Textron is scheduled...

From a commentator (Boog) at The Hedgehog Report, a site that looks at polls: Take a look at this electoral map: Trump has a floor of 259 EVs. ... ... What the map shows is that Trump only needs one of WI, MN, PA or MI. He could even win by plucking VA (which is admittedly unlikely), or by taking some mix of NH, ME-2 and NV. On the other hand, Biden has to SWEEP almost all of the remaining states. ... Trump is a candidate who the pollsters are finding it increasingly difficult to poll, and that is why...

The last time Sen. Susan Collins faced a Democratic challenger, she was considered practically invincible. “No politician is ever bulletproof, but Collins is close,” University of Maine political scientist Mark Brewer told the Portland Press Herald in 2013. At that point, Collins had already won three Senate races, expanding her share of the vote each time. She went on to defeat her rival, former ACLU leader Shenna Bellows, with almost 70% of the vote. Six years later, everything has changed. Collins is in the race of her life against Maine’s Democratic House speaker, Sara Gideon. With 3½ weeks to go,...