Your Vote 2020

From the implementation of ranked-choice voting in next year’s Democratic primary, to the transition from a caucus to a primary, we’ll discuss the 2020 campaign, including the departure of Susan Collins’ only primary opponent, reaction to the latest debate among the Democratic candidates and why many of them are making stops in Maine.

Former state Sen. Eric Brakey of Auburn kicked off his bid to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden of the 2nd District at a diner in Auburn on Tuesday.

A self-described libertarian Republican, Brakey told a crowd of roughly 50 supporters at Rolly’s Diner that he’s running on a platform of liberty from government regulation, government-run health care and needless involvement in foreign wars.

In August, the Pew Research Center released a poll showing a sharp increase in the number of Americans who view climate change as a major threat to the well-being of the country ⁠— from 40 percent in 2013 to 57 percent now. And it is of particular concern to Democratic voters, as reflected by the emergence of climate change as a leading issue in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary.

There's been a recent surge in Democratic presidential candidates visiting Maine, as New Jersey U.S. Sen. Cory Booker announced Tuesday that he'll campaign in Portland on Saturday. The flurry of campaign stops — three in a little over a week — illustrate a new electoral landscape for independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who dominated the Democratic caucuses in Maine in 2016. Sanders on Sunday drew a sellout crowd for a rally at the State Theatre in Portland, but his candidacy and his supporters are confronting a new political dynamic that the progressive firebrand from Vermont helped create.

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg revved up a capacity crowd at the State Theatre in Portland Thursday, in the first of what's expected to be a series of visits from White House hopefuls to Maine.