ME Gov: Conservative LePage Expands Lead

Guy Benson | October 29, 2010 11:24 AM

In early September, we introduced you to Paul LePage, the inspirational conservative who won Maine's Republican gubernatorial nomination. After hitting a brief

rough patch in early October, it appears LePage has hit his stride in the campaign's final lap:

Two weeks after slipping into a near tie, Republican Paul LePage has once again jumped ahead in the race to be Maine’s next governor, while Democrat-turned-Independent Eliot Cutler has risen to his highest level of support to date.
The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Voters shows LePage picking up 40% of the vote, while Democrat Libby Mitchell draws support from 26%. Cutler now also earns 26% of the vote.

If LePage maintains this seemingly prohibitive lead and wins on Tuesday, his improbable rise would register in my book as the the most under-reported conservative triumph of the cycle. And that's exactly the way his campaign wants it to be:

The aide politely told me LePage's campaign is meticulously avoiding the national press (Read: people like me) because its sole focus is on addressing the challenges facing the people of Maine; not becoming a "cause celebre" among conservatives. Frustrating for a political reporter, but very politically savvy. Keep an eye on Paul LePage.