Politico: Mitchell is Frontrunner

Jonathan Martin of Politico takes a look at Libby Mitchell's gubernatorial candidacy and declares her to have "accumulated the right experience to establish her as the frontrunner in the race to capture the keys to Augusta’s Blaine House."

He also seems to think that Governor Baldacci's approval rating and the candidates' relative distance from his administration will be the major factors in the race.

Mitchell will certainly be a contender and Baldacci will likely be a factor, but I wouldn't call her the frontrunner and I doubt the race will turn on the popularity of our lame-duck governor. Overall, this reads like another national journalist who knows just enough about Maine to be dangerous. Still, an interesting read.

3 responses to “Politico: Mitchell is Frontrunner”

#1Submitted by Garrett (not verified) on December 21, 2009 - 4:22pm.

I agree. I have yet to see a

I agree. I have yet to see a DC-based analysis of this race remotely in touch with the reality on the ground (with the exception of Pine Tree Politics, of course). They should really just stop trying.

#2Submitted by Derek Viger (not verified) on December 23, 2009 - 3:06pm.

Despite being...

Despite living in the DC area, I think we can safely say that Matt Gagnon is a Mainer :) This is why he tends to be spot on with his analysis, while many out of state journalist miss the target.

#3Submitted by Jim (not verified) on December 29, 2009 - 8:33am.

He may be wrong about

He may be wrong about Mitchell, but he's right about Baldacci. Liberals will certainly hope otherwise, so I'm not surprised you poo-poo the idea, but much of the election may be a referendum on the outgoing incumbent. This is often the case, and it is especially true when the outgoing incumbent is monumentally unpopular.