The amount of money spent in this election cycle will shatter previous records.

Ronald Schmidt, political science professor at the University of Southern Maine, recently said Maine will experience a flood of outside money from Democrats, Republicans, and their political action committees.

As the dust settles from the U.S. Senate primary elections, a trend in political contributions from away already is emerging.

Four Republican candidates received the majority of their campaign money from out-of-state donors during the primary, with Scott D’Amboise getting only 7 percent of his funding in Maine.

Although Democrats raised money mostly in-state, John Hinck received substantial outside funding.

Independent Angus King is relying on in-state support for nearly all of his campaign financing.

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Outside groups are sure to pump more money into our state in order to influence the outcome of the general election.

Maine is a pivotal battleground in the fight for control of the Senate.

The impact of money from away will be seen in an increase in attack advertising that Mainers find distasteful.

In Maine, we recognize the harm negativity has on our ability to hold civil dialogue. The only candidate pledging not to run a negative campaign is King, who already has been the subject of an attack by the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Further offensive ads are sure to come from both Democrats and the Republicans.

We need a senator who answers to the people of Maine, not special interest groups from away. The Senate requires pragmatic, non-partisan leadership in order to change the current political gridlock.

To quote John Fitzgerald Kennedy, “Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer.”

Nathan J. R. Grant

Gardiner


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