Ron Paul speaks from the balcony of Linda Bean's Maine Kitchen & Topside Tavern during a stop in Freeport, Maine.??
Rick Santorum's three-state sweep in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri on Tuesday did more than put a jolt into the 2012 Republican race: It inspired Mitt Romney to visit Maine. Ahead of the announcement on Saturday of Maine's caucus results, Yahoo News spoke with Steve Mistler, political reporter for the Lewiston Sun Journal, about what matters in Maine.
Yahoo News: Do you feel like Santorum gave you the gift of a closer race?
Mistler: [Laughs] Yeah. With Santorum winning in Colorado and Minnesota and Missouri, it definitely has increased the national exposure for people here in Maine. If Romney, a New England governor, were to lose here--with Massachusetts being right next door--it's would be a big blow.
This is the first election cycle you've covered.
It's interesting. In Maine, we're not typically on the radar since we have so few delegates. And there wasn't much excitement up until a few days ago. In 2008, there was some excitement for the Democratic caucuses between Obama and Hillary Clinton. There was a lot of enthusiasm because the race was so close. This year, no one in Maine was expecting the vote to be important. The candidates--with the exception of Ron Paul--certainly weren't looking at Maine. Until Mitt Romney's three-state loss, he wasn't paying much attention to Maine. The only visit from a candidate we had was Ron Paul. He spent two days here, and he got quite of a bit of attention. He's set up here pretty well. I think Romney, after his loss to Santorum, sees the need to do well here. He did a tele-Town Hall with potential caucus voters, which appeared to be very last-minute, and he came here on Friday for the first time.
Are you surprised Romney hasn't spent more time in Maine, considering he's just down the road in Massachusetts?
I'm not really surprised. He had such a comfortable lead after his crushed everyone in Florida. And his campaign strategy has always been to target the larger states. But things may have changed a bit for him after Tuesday. I don't know if he took Maine for granted, but I think he realizes he needs to win here.
Of all the candidates, who is the most fun to cover? The least?
Well, we haven't really had the chance to cover any of them, except for Ron Paul. But Paul is fun to cover. His supporters are just so enthusiastic.
From a media and voter standpoint, who or what is the most valuable endorsement in Maine?
Well, Linda Bean, the granddaughter of Leon Leonwood Bean and an heiress to L.L.Bean, came out and endorsed Ron Paul. That was a sort of big. But I think our governor--Paul LePage --is the biggest. He hasn't endorsed a candidate yet, and I'm not certain when he will. When Ron Paul was here, he had a 30-minute meeting with the governor, but no endorsement came of it.
I think the governor wants to back the front-runner. Some of the governor's key allies have been coming out publicly backing Romney.
What does the national media not know about Maine media?
I don't know. I think one of the things is when you see the national media describe Maine, they always hear them describe it as a Democratic state. But things really flipped in 2010. You had Republicans winning legislative seats, and we have a Republican governor. It's safe to say Maine is more purple than blue. The other thing is, we had Congressional redistricting that could put the state in play in a general election. And Maine is one of two states--Nebraska being the other--that splits their electoral votes. So that could be a factor in the fall.
If you had the opportunity to moderate one of the GOP debates, what would be the first question you'd ask?
"If each of you had a chance to send one of the remaining GOP candidates to Mr. Gingrich's proposed lunar colony, who would it be?"
What happens after the Maine caucuses for you, personally? Isn't Maine called 'Vacationland'?
No, no. I cover the state house, and its a really busy legislative session right now. After this weekend, it's back to work. Lots of long days for me.
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