The Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest is compiled by David Nir, Jeff Singer, Stephen Wolf, and Carolyn Fiddler, with additional contributions from David Jarman, Steve Singiser, Daniel Donner, James Lambert, David Beard, and Arjun Jaikumar.
Leading Off
●ME-Gov, ME-01: Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree didn't rule out running for governor back in December of 2016, but we'd seen no sign since then that she was at all interested. However, the Bangor Daily News' Lance Dutson writes that Pingree is privately telling supporters that "she is seriously considering a run," and that she's "expected to make her decision very soon."
Campaign ActionThe Democratic field is still taking shape, and there's no clear frontrunner. The best-known candidate is probably Attorney General Janet Mills, though she's never run statewide before. (In Maine, the attorney general is selected by the legislature.) Pingree has represented the southern half of the state in Congress since 2009, and if she runs, she'd start with plenty of name recognition and connections. Pingree's 1st Congressional District, which includes Portland, backed Obama 60-38 and Clinton 54-39, and Team Blue would be favored to hold it without her.
On the GOP side, businessman Shawn Moody, who owns several auto body and repair shops in the state, announced he was running on Tuesday. Moody ran for governor in 2010 as an independent and took fourth place with 5 percent of the vote. But despite that inauspicious performance, some key members of GOP Gov. Paul LePage's campaign team are backing Moody. Notably, Moody’s campaign has signed on Lauren LePage, the termed-out governor's daughter and sometimes spokesperson, and political advisor Brent Littlefield. The governor himself appointed his former rival to serve as a trustee for both the University of Maine System and Maine Community College System after the 2010 election.
LePage so far has not taken sides in the GOP primary, though WCSH'sDon Carrigan says there's speculation that he'll back Moody. A few other Republican candidates are also LePage allies, most notably ex-state Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew and state House Minority Leader Ken Fredette. State Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason, who is close to the state's conservative Evangelical political network, and state Senate President Mike Thibodeau, who has come into conflict with LePage, are also in for Team Red.