Ms. Bellows is an eight-year former executive director of the Maine ACLU and has somewhat of a libertarian streak.
The GOP incumbent is running for her fourth term.
This could be a surprise pickup opportunity for Democrats but there is almost no polling data available. Can it be taken?
Bellows is the only congressional candidate I’ve heard of this year who is making a campaign issue of the “surveillance industrial complex.”
Strong stuff!
I consider this race the best flip chance for Democrats.
I know Kentucky and Georgia are touted as better chances to pick up a Senate seat but I don’t see it. Those states are deep Red and there are no coattails to ride in them.
Gotta flip one of them, in my opinion.
Her chances are probably on the order of 1,000 to 1 or less. Collins is well respected as a Senator who is not a rabid dog R.
From a native Mainiac!
Well, that’s what she was, you see. Before she made a routine whistlestop visit to Derry and met the Crimson King . . . And then on to 'Salem’s Lot . . .
I agree that this is pretty much a lock for Collins.
Yeah, the only thing preventing Collins from winning is Collins. She’d have to screw up enormously to lose this one.
What’s her position on legitimate rape?
“Not now, I have a headache,” IME.
What? Just because I’m a rapist doesn’t mean I’m inconsiderate!
[Adm. Ackbar] It’s a trap! [/AA]
I have to wonder, if the Democrats let an ACLU libertarian win the primary, doesn’t that show a lack of interest in the race on their part similar to the lack of interest that allowed Alvin Greene to challenge Jim Demint?
I’d be tempted to root for the libertarian in this race, personally.
No, because “ACLU libertarian” != economic libertarian.
Granted, but the Democratic Party has been reluctant to go after the President on the NSA. This woman is approaching Paul’s level of stridency on the issue. Plus the ACLU, while not economic libertarians, are much more libertarian on issues like political speech and guns than the party mainstream.
There’s been no polling, so we can’t know for sure, but this really looks to me like a race that Democrats aren’t looking at as a pickup opportunity. Not just for her views, but also her background. Normally when a party is looking for a strong Senate candidate, they look in the legislature, or for someone who has already won statewide, or a Congressmen. If every single Democratic officeholder declined to run, that’s a bad sign, because Maine has a lot of Democratic officeholders.
Don’t matter, its a big tent. When the progressive wing looks poised to take over the Dems like the TP has the Pubs, that will matter; but that day is a long way off yet. 
Collins almost always is in the top three of “Most popular Senators amongst their constituents” polling. I imagine the seat will flip parties once she leaves, but its basically hers as long as she wants it.
Collins was also Chairperson of the Homeland Security Commission during most of the Bush admin, and is generally hawkish on that sort of thing ,which I presume is why her challenger is emphasizing a pro-privacy stance (it’s probably also a good way to attract donations in a candidacy that most people would write off as hopeless). But I seriously doubt those issues really attract enough interest with the electorate to threaten Collins.
Even if Ms. Bellows does not win this election, hopefully she will at least get enough national exposure for future races. She certainly is a strong candidate combining the economic progressive stance of Senators Sanders and Warren with the civil libertarian stance of Senator Paul. It also doesn’t hurt she’s the most attractive person I’ve seen in American politics…
She is kind of cute.
More importantly, from now until November she gets a bully pulpit for progressive issues.
See, that’s just it. As a former native Mainer with a lot of hard-left hippie friends… Even they like Collins (and liked Snowe). She’s not a moron. She seems like a reasonable politician.
I wouldn’t be surprised. Collins is… not an easy seat to unseat.