Former Governor Angus King has a huge lead over his Republican and Democratic opponents in the race to replace Olympia Snowe:
A new WBUR poll shows former Maine Gov. Angus King as the heavy favorite to replace retiring Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe. Current poll numbers have King, who is running as an independent, with 50 percent of likely voters, Maine Secretary of State, Republican Charlie Summers, with 23 percent and Democratic State Sen. Cynthia Dill with 9 percent.
King, who served as governor of the state from 1995 to 2003, benefits from a large advantage in name recognition and a 60 percent favorability. By comparison, 71 percent of voters did not offer an opinion of Dill and 57 percent did not rate Summers.
In other news from the poll, President Obama has a 14 point lead over Mitt Romney in the state, a state he won by 17 points in 2008 and a referendum that would legalize same-sex marriage is leading 55% to 36%.
The numbers in the Senate race are likely to change at least a little bit as voters get to know the major party candidates better, but right now it’s hard to see King losing this race in November. When combined with what looks to be a tight battle for control of the Senate, this makes the Maine raise highly interesting if only because King has not yet said which party he would caucus with should he be elected to the Senate. In the end, the fate of the Senate could end up being in his hands.
