US Senate

U.S. Senate Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin, D-Ill., will be the keynote speaker at the Maine Democratic Convention. In 2006 Durbin was named one of America’s Top 10 senators by Time magazine.

He will address Democrats May 31 at 6 p.m. at the Augusta Civic Center. The convention will be held May 30 to June 1.

"We are really thrilled to have someone as respected and as well-liked as Senator Durbin come to Maine," said Executive Director Arden Manning in a release. "The fact he is willing to take time to come here shows how important Maine's Senate race is to the rest of the country in terms of the Senate's ability to bring about change next year."

Apparently, Ms. Dobson and her peasant skirt posse have taken a liking to the confines of the lobby of the Portland office of Senator Collins

News Channel 13 had this piece tonight with U.S. Rep. Tom Allen continuing to criticize Sen. Susan Collins for not calling Senate hearings to investigate American contractors such as Halliburton for war-profiteering. (Click here for the full report, posted by the Allen campaign.)

Allen said Collins had the authority to call these hearings investigating the contractors when she chaired the U.S. Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. He said she ignored 10 letters from members of the committee.

In February U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J. came to Maine and together with Allen made the same allegations.

Don't expect Maine's U.S. senators to be a presidential runningmate. In a survey of the U.S. Senate's membership not already running for president on whether they'd accept an offer to be vice president, The Hill newspaper found a variety of responses to the veepstakes question. Some were accompanied by laughs, others took the question seriously.

So, how did Republicans Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe respond?

A fundraiser with three best-selling authors has been postponed because of a recent controversy.

Stephen King, John Grisham and Tess Gerritsen were scheduled to attend a June 7 fundraiser for Senate candidate and U.S. Rep. Tom Allen.

King made headlines after making the following comment in front of high school students in Washington D.C.:

U.S. Rep. Tom Allen, a superdelegate, endorsed Barack Obama today. In a statement, he said both candidates are “supremely qualified to be president” however Obama symbolizes change for Maine and the country.

His statement, according to a press release:

Following the League of Young Voters’ endorsements, announced Tuesday, the organization has released a guide for young voters in Portland.

The guide elaborates on the league’s endorsements, explaining in detail why the candidates were chosen.

It covers the primary races for the U.S. House and Senate races, state House Districts 114 and 120, state Senate district 8 and the two bond referendum questions.

The league will release another voter’s guide in the fall for the general election.

They described their endorsement process:

“In order to receive endorsement, candidates and issues needed to win a simple majority using an Instant Runoff Voting ballot. Our multi-partisan Elections Committee then spends up to 8 hours a week researching and interviewing candidates. Committed League members who have racked up 8 hours of volunteer time are allowed to then vote on their favorite candidates. We are focused and committed to ensuring that our endorsed candidates have the skills and background necessary for elected office and would be excellent advocates on the issues affecting young people.”

The Portland area League of Young Voters announced their endorsements today.

They are:

U.S. Senate: Tom Allen, D-Portland

First Congressional District: Chellie Pingree, D-North Haven

State Senate District 8: Justin Alfond, D-Portland, the league’s founder

State House District 114: Peter Stuckey , D-Portland

H.D. 120: Diane Russell, D-Portland

We had lots of posts from the GOP convention, and plan to have just as much for the Democrats in a few weeks.

Links to stories:

Photos from the Maine GOP Convention. Click here to see all of our photos on Flickr.