In the Maine Senate race, Democratic nominee Cynthia Dill is on the offensive — against the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC).
In a fundraising email to supporters on Thursday, Dill dissed her own party’s Senate campaign arm.
“Don’t let the DSCC and other beltway insiders decide who Maine’s next United States Senator will be,” she wrote. “We know these groups don’t share our ideals and will not fight for working families, small businesses and Maine values.”
Dill faces an uphill battle in the race against Republican Secretary of State Charlie Summers, independent former Gov. Angus King and independent businessman Steve Woods.
King is the most problematic opponent for Dill. Though he has refused to say which party he would caucus with, if elected, he is widely expected to caucus with the Democrats. Wildly popular and the undisputed front-runner since he first dipped his toe into the race following Sen. Olympia Snowe’s retirement announcement, he is seen as the Democrats’ best bet for flipping the seat.
Democrats have a fairly strong bench of candidates in Maine, but when King announced he was running, most bowed out of the process. Those that remained, including Dill, were considered second-string candidates.
The DSCC has not indicated any intention to go in and help Dill, and King is expected to net most of the Democratic support. Dill is generally considered to be a second-string candidate; the stronger Democratic candidates opted not to run when King announced his candidacy. That puts little pressure on national Democrats to get into her corner, especially since her most recent Federal Election Commission filing showed just over $9,000 cash on hand, raising doubts as to whether she is a viable candidate.
The DSCC did not immediately respond to request for comment.