By Michael Shepherd - Dec. 1, 2022
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📷 Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, departs the chamber during votes at the Capitol in Washington on May 25, 2022. (AP photo by J. Scott Applewhite)

Good morning from Augusta. There are six days until the new Legislature is sworn in.

What we're watching today

After saying 2018 was likely his last run, Maine's junior senator teases preparations for a third term. It has been quite a run for U.S. Sen. Angus King. The outsider independent benefited from a three-way split in 1994 to become Maine governor, presiding over half of the prosperous 1990s. After Sen. Olympia Snowe retired in 2012, he skated into her seat, becoming an outspoken member of the Democratic caucus.

When he won the governorship, he was 50 years old, which was older than many of the big-name politicians who rose to high federal offices before him. But it is looking like he is going to have a longer run than many of them.

King is preparing to run for a third term in 2024 after saying in his campaign four years ago that it was likely his last race. Rumors about those plans to run have percolated behind the scenes for months and he fueled them by telling Politico in October that he would likely make an announcement next year.

His office effectively confirmed those plans on Wednesday: "Your sources are pretty good," King spokesperson Matthew Felling wrote in an email.

"Senator King feels great, has been an active driver in one of the most productive Congressional sessions in years, and he feels there is still plenty of work to be done," Felling said. "I expect he’ll make an official announcement when campaign season kicks into gear next year."

King is 78 years old now and would become Maine's oldest-ever senator if he serves until March 2025, shortly after the election two years from now. He seems unlikely to see stiff competition from Republicans, who scoff at his independent branding but have not been able to lay gloves on him since his political return. He beat then-state Sen. Eric Brakey by 19 points in 2018.

In the Senate, King is not as high-profile as Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who is in the mix on many major deals. He has carved out a large portfolio as a member of the intelligence panel alongside Collins and was a frequent critic of former President Donald Trump, saying after the Capitol riots of Jan. 6, 2021, that the Cabinet should consider removing him.

He has long been a strong spokesperson for the state and is one of the more talented retail politicians here in recent history. King has shifted from a relatively fiscally conservative but socially liberal governor to a mostly reliable Democratic vote in the Senate despite some differences with party leaders, including when he blocked President Joe Biden's 2021 pick to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Over time, his politics seem to have tracked with the left-of-center state he represents. King's formula has put him alongside Gov. Janet Mills among the state's most popular politicians. She led him narrowly in a Digital Research Inc. poll of Maine released in November, but he hit 62 percent approval in fall 2020.

His decision has also been the subject of speculation about who would seek the seat if King retired, with allies of Rep. Jared Golden recently putting him forward as a logical Democratic prospect for higher office after winning a third term in the 2nd Congressional District. The senator's move could freeze the top level of Maine politics in place until 2026, when Mills is term-limited and Collins would be up for a Maine-record sixth Senate term.

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News and notes

📷 White House executive chef Cris Comerford, left, and White House executive pastry chef Susie Morrison, right, hold dishes during a media preview for the State Dinner with President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House in Washington on Wednesday. The dinner will include butter-poached Maine lobster. (AP photo by Andrew Harnik)

😡 The president's lobster dinner rankles industry boosters and detractors.

◉ President Joe Biden's Thursday state dinner for French President Emmanuel Macron will include butter-poached Maine lobster, with 200 crustaceans sent from here to Washington for the occasion. It comes amid the backdrop of the industry's state-backed lawsuit against the federal government for strict rules aimed at preserving endangered whales.

◉ Seeing some irony was U.S. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine's 2nd District, a Democrat who tweeted that if Biden can buy lobsters for a "fancy dinner," he "should also take the time to meet with the Maine lobstermen his administration is currently regulating out of business."

◉ At the same time, Biden was criticized by an advocacy group that has cheered on retailers and restaurants pulling lobster due to sustainability concerns. Gib Brogan, campaign director for Oceana, told Bloomberg News the lobster "comes from a fishery with well-documented risks" to whales.

📣 Maine saw massive voter turnout in 2022, though figures are not final.

◉ Secretary of State Shenna Bellows' office is estimating turnout at 75 percent, saying that share of the 900,000 voters registered in October cast ballots in November, according to Maine Public. That share should climb as those who registered on Election Day are added to that data.

◉ High turnout is normal in Maine, but 75 percent would be staggering in a midterm. It could also be the highest in the nation. About 78 percent of voters cast ballots in the highly anticipated 2020 presidential election. The share was just over 62 percent in the last gubernatorial race in 2018.

◉ By the share of voting-eligible residents who cast ballots, Maine was first among states at 61.4 percent in 2022, according to the U.S. Elections Project.

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What we're reading

💌 Former President Donald Trump's Maine loyalists aren't sold on other potential 2024 hopefuls, showing it will be hard for Republicans to dump him.

📁 In court, a retired state trooper outlined alleged retaliation by a superior whom he said wanted him to discuss sensitive federal cases.

🏢 This new Maine loan program will provide aid for green building upgrades.

♨ The acquisition of a Bangor-area heating firm continues a trend away from family ownership and toward consolidation in the industry.

🐟 Endangered Atlantic salmon had the second-best run in 11 years on the Penobscot River in 2022.

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