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Sen. Angus King Switches Support from Cutler to Michaud

PORTLAND, Maine - Maine independent Sen. Angus King is taking Eliot Cutler's advice: King says he's voting for someone else for governor: Democrat Mike Michaud. In a statement released today, King says he's switching his vote from fellow independent Cutler to Michaud because he's "a realist."

"Eliot Cutler is a fine man who would make a good governor of our state," King says, in a statement. "He is a friend who I believe would be a true consensus builder, ready to put solutions ahead of politics. My feelings about Eliot on these matters have not changed since I endorsed his candidacy four years ago and again this past August.

"But, like Eliot, I too am a realist. After many months considering the issues and getting to know the candidates, it is clear that the voters of Maine are not prepared to elect Eliot in 2014."

At a Portland news conference this morning, Cutler told supporters that if they think he can't win, they should vote for someone else, though he did not specify whether he thought that "someone else" should be Michaud or Republican incumbent Gov. Paul LePage.

But King, who caucuses with Democrats in the U.S. Senate, says he believes Michaud is the best candidate for Maine. "The good news is that we still have a chance to elect a governor who will represent the majority of Maine people: my friend and colleague, Mike Michaud. And today, I’d like to offer him my support," King says. "I have worked with Mike Michaud for twenty years and know that he has what it takes to be Maine’s next Governor."

A recent poll by Pan Atlantic SMS Group shows Michaud and Lepage running neck and neck, with about 40 percent each, with Cutler running a distant third.
 

Barbara grew up in Biddeford, Maine. She earned a master’s in public administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and a bachelor’s in English from the University of Southern Maine.