Megan Buerger's blog

A new radio advertisement released by the Republican National Committee and approved by John McCain, attacks presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama for his recent visits to Berlin and Paris.

Gov. John Baldacci along with three other New England governors, assembled in Boston today to discuss energy issues at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, according to the governor's office. Govs. John Lynch of New Hampshire and Donald Carcieri of Rhode Island also attended the summit hosted by Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts.

U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R) continues to lose support in her bid for reelection, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey. In April, Collins led her Democratic challenger Tom Allen by 16 percentage points, but is now down to only a seven point lead at 42%, dropping her below 50% for the first time.

Collins' favorability rating -- at 65 percent -- is still high but is down five percentage points from last month. Meanwhile, her unfavorables rose from 29% to 33% in the past month.

The Maine Policy Board of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) has endorsed Democrat Ethan Strimling for the 1st Congressional District seat in Congress.

The union, with 3,000 members in Maine, believes Strimling is the best candidate to stand for Maine's working families in Washington. Strimling "understands the concerns and the needs of Maine workers and their families," Will Towers, chairman of AFSCME, said in a statement.

Towers added, "He has made them front and center of his campaign and he'll do the same thing in Congress."

Strimling said he is proud to have the support of AFSCME. "I look forward to working with them when I'm in Congress to get this state and this nation's economy back on track for all Maine workers," he said in a statement.

Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist has endorsed Dean Scontras (R-Elliot), saying he will be "A leader in congress on immigration reform and border security," according to the Scontras campaign.

Scontras is currently battling Charlie Summers (R-Scarborough) to secure the Republican nomination for Maine's 1st Congressional District.

"I'm proud to accept Mr. Gilchrist's endorsement in the Republican Primary," said Scontras in a statement. "Border security is an issue that Maine Republicans are concerned about and that I've worked hard to do something about during this campaign.  Mainers have my pledge to make securing our borders and cracking down on the sanctuary cities, states and companies which encourage the flow of illegal immigrants into America a top priority when I am elected to Congress."

Ray Richardson, co-host of the Fox Morning News Show on WLOB and Fox 23, has publicly endorsed Dean Scontras, Republican candidate for Maine’s 1st Congressional District.

"I have thought a lot about this campaign and what it means to Maine and our nation," said Richardson in a statement. "The issues that matter most to me, traditional conservative issues that Ronald Reagan espoused so well, I believe Dean Scontras embodies. Dean is strong on national security, fully understands the economic challenges facing Maine citizens and our nation and has consistently displayed a commitment to traditional conservative cultural issues."

In response, Scontras said, "I am very proud to have earned Ray's support. This endorsement is more than a big boost to the campaign. This means a great deal to me personally.”

Democratic New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg will formally endorse Maine Congressman Tom Allen’s candidacy for the U.S. Senate.

“From nearly the outset of this war, it was clear that there was a major problem with the largest contractor we had in Iraq: Halliburton," Lautenberg said.  read more »