Comment on Primary candidates raking in cash for Maine governor’s race

In the race to be Maine’s next governor, the first campaign finance reports of 2018 show clear front-runners, with candidates who are sitting on piles of cash while others already face mounting debt. But who has the most money now may not ultimately matter, according to political observers and the results of past campaigns in Maine where the winner isn’t always a matter of money. Case in point: Paul LePage, who had raised only $40,000 at this juncture in the 2010 election season but went on to dominate the Republican primary and claim the first of his two terms in the Blaine House. “Money doesn’t equal votes by any means, but money makes it easier to get votes,”said Mark Brewer, a political science professor at the University of Maine. Adding another layer of uncertainty is the prospect that ranked-choice voting will be imposed on the June 12 primary by a people’s veto campaign now underway, with petitioners closing in on the signatures they need. At the top of the fundraising pack on the Democratic side is candidate Adam Cote, a Sanford attorney and 20-year veteran of the Maine National Guard.