Kucinich a frequent flier in Maine compared to field
Originally published in the Morning Sentinel
Sunday, January 18, 2004
Kucinich a frequent flier in state compared to field
By ELBERT AULL
Staff Wri
LEWISTON -- Dennis Kucinich headed straight to the gaggle of reporters gathered at the rear of a Bates College lecture hall on Wednesday, turning the heads of around 50 supporters who showed up early to listen to the Democrat explain why he should win his party's nomination for president.
After a quick primer on his platform -- get U.S. troops out of Iraq, bring manufacturing jobs back to this country and provide every citizen with health care -- the Ohio congressman made a prediction.
"This (nomination) won't be decided until the convention," he said. Kucinich repeated the phrase when reporters prodded the candidate, who finished at the bottom of the most recent nationwide CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll on the Democratic nomination, about whether his campaign would survive a loss in the Maine caucuses Feb. 8.
"This is more than a campaign, this is a movement," Kucinich said. The candidate, who has visited Maine more than any other nomination-seeker during the past six months, is counting on a win here.
If the number of visits leading up to caucus day affects the outcome at all, Kucinich has reason to believe he has an edge.
Although no other state will hold a primary or caucus on Feb. 8, many in the field of Democrats seeking their party's nomination for president have bypassed Maine.
Kucinich is the only candidate to have visited the state more than twice during the past six months.
Because the winner of this state's caucuses will enjoy more than a day of momentum-building publicity, experts are surprised more candidates have not traveled to southern Maine while campaigning in New Hampshire recently.
"I think the leading candidates are missing a good bet by not coming here," said L. Sandy Maisel, chairman of the government department at Colby College in Waterville. "(The candidates) are working in New Hampshire; it's 45 minutes from New Hampshire to reach Maine's biggest media market. How hard is it to come up here?"
Maisel said Howard Dean supporters, compared to the rest of the field, have run the most effective campaign so far. But that is only by default, he said.
The Maine caucus was key during the wide-open 1992 Democratic nomination campaign, Maisel said.
Massachusetts Sen. Paul Tsongas had captured New Hampshire and could have solidified his position as a front-runner with a win in Maine, but California Gov. Jerry Brown barely edged Tsongas and killed the senator's momentum -- clearing the way for Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton's "Comeback Kid" campaign.
Maine could serve a similar purpose this year, but "in this case, nobody's working hard here," Maisel said.
Kucinich is scheduled to visit Maine for the fourth time in the past six months Wednesday. The candidate will take a bus tour of Maine, addressing supporters at several locations.
Dean and retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, who have a considerable lead in the latest nationwide Gallup poll, have visited Maine.
Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, leading in the latest Reuters/MSNBC/Zogby Iowa caucus poll, visited Maine to participate in the Democrats' Jefferson-Jackson dinner alongside Vermont's Dean in early November. Rep. Dick Gephardt's daughter, Chrissy, has also visited the state.
Dean, with offices in Bangor, Lewiston and Portland; and Kerry, with offices in Bangor and Portland, are the only candidates with paid staff here.
"We have the resources to run a national campaign," said Jesse Derris, a spokesman for the Dean campaign. "We have the resources to take every state seriously."
The Dean campaign has five paid staffers, three interns and 500 active volunteers, many of whom have traveled door-to-door to drum up support for their candidate, Derris said.
The Kerry campaign currently has two paid staffers, one of whom is Gov. John Baldacci's sister, Lisa.
Jesse Connolly, Kerry's political director here, said he doesn't think Maine's Democrats will make a decision "based on how many hours (candidates) spend on the ground here."
"It's about who can beat Bush," Connolly said.
Dean and Kerry have not scheduled return trips to Maine until caucus day.
Lu Bauer, coordinator of Kucinich's Maine campaign, said she expects the candidate's presence in the state to sway voters who feel taken for granted by the rest of the field.
"The whole campaign is looking at Maine as the watershed," Bauer said. [ed note: so only three campaigns including Kucinich have a ground operation in Maine. Where are the other "serious candidates"?]
Subscribe to this blog's feed