FOXNews.com: Angus King, independent ex-Maine governor, wins key Senate race for likely Dem gain

FOXNews.com FOX News Network - We Report. You Decide. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Angus King, independent ex-Maine governor, wins key Senate race for likely Dem gain Nov 7th 2012, 01:11 Independent candidate Angus King on Tuesday won the Maine Senate seat being vacated by retiring Republican Olympia Snowe, effectively shifting the seat to the Democrats. King, a former two-term governor, defeated Republican Secretary of State Charlie Summers and Democratic state Sen. Cynthia Dill in a closely watched three-way race that has big implications for control of the Senate. King, 68, said he was inspired to run because Snowe described the Senate as broken. He cast himself as unbeholden to parties and able to broker compromise. He endured millions of dollars' worth of attack ads from Republican and conservative groups. King is expected to caucus as a Democrat, though he has not made any official announcement yet. He is scheduled to deliver his victory speech later Tuesday in Freeport. The race created unusual dynamics in which a GOP-led group spent heavily to prop up Dill in hopes of keeping Democratic votes away from King, a former Democrat. Later, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spent money to attack Summers after polls showed him gaining momentum against King. King said the partisan gridlock that led Snowe to throw in the towel after 33 years in Congress was the reason he got into the race. He said he hoped to fix what he called a "broken" system. That having more independents elected to the Senate would be the major parties' "worst nightmare," he said. The GOP was virtually assured of keeping the Senate seat before Snowe abruptly abandoned the race. Her announcement in late February, a week after her 65th birthday, caused a scramble. Summers, 53, of Scarborough, and Dill, 47, of Cape Elizabeth, won their crowded primaries. Tuesday's ballot included two lesser-known independents, Tea Party activist and Libertarian Andrew Ian Dodge, of Harpswell, and former civil servant Danny Dalton, of Brunswick. Another independent, businessman Steve Woods, of Yarmouth, dropped out, but his name remained on the ballot. Snowe, a self-described centrist who was attacked in her own party as a RINO, or "Republican in name only," didn't mince words as she prepared to exit the chamber. She said she was weary of the pervasive "my way or the highway" views at both extremes of the political spectrum and lamented that the "sensible center has now virtually disappeared." Snowe was using part of her re-election campaign fund to establish an organization aimed at encouraging young women to participate in public service. She opted not to spend any money this cycle on any candidates, including Summers, who declined to endorse her in her primary. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions