John Baldacci, the former Governor of Maine, just announced that he will not run for the open US Senate seat being vacated by Olympia Snowe. Baldacci was the last remaining Democrat with any chance of capturing this seat.
Baldacci is the third (and last) prominent Democrat to pull out of this race since Independent Angus King, another former governor, entered the race last week. King left office with much higher popularity ratings than did Baldacci, and most observers gave Baldacci little hope of prevailing in a 3-way race.
Three Democrats are still in the primary race as of today, but none appears to have the stature to knock off King. Several Republicans are also circulating nomination petitions, with signatures due in tomorrow.
While it's widely assumed that if elected, King would tend to caucus with Democrats, he has made it clear that he wants to be a power broker and will not commit to either party. He definitely has already dashed Democrats' hopes for a pick-up of this seat that has been held by the Repulcians since 1994.
Full story here: Bangor Daily News