Justin's Political Corner

Red alert! Longtime Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe—in a huge, huge shocker—says she’s retiring! 

While I can imagine many reasons why Snowe, age 65 and a member of Congress since 1979, would want to depart, I most certainly cannot say I (or anyone else) saw this coming. Nevertheless, though Snowe was set to cruise to re-election, it would have meant another six years serving as part of an increasingly ultra-hard-right, Tea Party-hijacked caucus—something the faux-moderate Snowe might just have gotten sick-and-tired of doing.

Whatever the cause, Snowe’s departure creates an enormous pickup opportunity for Democrats in this decidedly blue state. While several lesser-known candidates had been running against her (including former SoS Matt Dunlap, state Rep. Jon Hinck and state Sen. Cynthia Dill), expect a lot more interest now from bigger names, such as Reps. Chellie Pingree and Mike Michaud. This is going to be a huge contest and it automatically makes Republican hopes of re-taking the Senate that much more distant. We’ll bring you more news as it develops.

h/t: David Nir at Daily Kos Elections

Quirky libertarian Senate candidate Andrew Ian Dodge is abandoning his primary campaign against Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) to run as an independent, telling TPM that he no longer has any faith in the Maine Republican Party following a disastrous presidential caucus this month.

Dodge, who was an organizer for the Maine Tea Party Patriots before running against Snowe, wasn’t exactly the most threatening challenger to the Maine moderate, who is considered vulnerable from the right thanks to her 2009 vote for the stimulus. He has yet to file an FEC report and has eschewed any kind of fundraising effort (he says he’ll ramp up his financial operation soon). But his eccentric background as a science fiction writer who dresses like a heavy metal singer and articulates a libertarian message drew attention from the local press throughout his run. He announced his initial run with an interview in TPM last year and made his formal announcement at CPAC the same day.

Now that he’s freed from Republican politics, Dodge says his campaign will play up his support for gay rights more — he believes bans on same sex marriage are unconstitutional. He hopes to make a play for Paul supporters with his small government platform.

h/t: Benjy Sarlin at TPM