ME: Independent Cutler is a Serious Contender in Gubernatorial Race

The Morning Sentinel relays a report from the Maine Sunday Telegram on independent candidate for governor of the Pine Tree State, Eliot Cutler.  The piece lays out the state of his campaign and details the politics of independent campaigning through the party primary season:

Elliot Cutler of Cape Elizabeth is running as an unenrolled candidate, also referred to as independent.  There are 10 unenrolled candidates for governor, but only Cutler, at this point, is considered a contender in the November general election. Groups hosting candidate forums have included Cutler in their lineups, and he has a professional staff working on his campaign.

Maine has a track record when it comes to electing independents as governor. Jim Longley Sr. ran and won as an unenrolled candidate in 1974. And Angus King won twice as an independent, serving two terms from 1995 to 2003 . . .

Cutler has been working full time on his campaign since last June. He’s out on the stump, having been to every county at least twice. He’s run TV ads, to get his name and face in the public eye. He’s raising and spending money.

According to the latest campaign finance reports, filed in January, Cutler had raised $266,485 and had spent $183,159. Cutler’s treasurer is Robert C.S. Monks, also a board member and investor of MaineToday Media, the parent company of the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, the Kennebec Journal and the Morning Sentinel.  Cutler’s finances are in the mix compared to top party earners and spenders during that period . . .

As a non-partisan candidate, he’s aimed squarely at the middle of the voter base. Unenrolled voters in Maine outnumber membership in either party — 366,821 as of last month.