Sen. Snowe not content to rest on her laurels

WASHINGTON – She’s way ahead in the polls, and political experts tag her seat as secure. Nevertheless, U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe says she is going to keep on working hard as she attempts to win her Senate seat for a third time in November.

“Polls are just a snapshot in time,” the Maine Republican said. “I’ve been a veteran of numerous elections, and I’m well aware of the pitfalls and the risks that are associated any time you’re on the ballot.”

A recent poll has Snowe in the lead, with 63 percent of likely voters saying they would vote for her and only 21 percent saying they would vote for the Democrat who emerges victorious from the primary in June. Snowe faces no opposition in the Republican primary. Democrats Jean Hay Bright, an author and political activist from Dixmont, and Eric Mehnert, an attorney from Orono, will face off against each other in June for the right to challenge the incumbent in November.

Elections are a long process, Snowe said in an interview in her Senate office this week, and she has never taken one for granted. “I have a great respect for the ballot box on Election Day,” she said.

In 2000, Snowe won re-election handily with 69 percent of the vote. Through March, she had already collected $2.1 million for her campaign, compared with $2.2 million she raised for the entire 2000 election.

Her closest opponent in the money race is Bright, who has raised $13,000 so far.

Snowe said she would center her campaign on what she has accomplished in her many years representing Maine in Washington and on what she considers her “pivotal” role in the Senate.

“We need more individuals in the United States Senate that are prepared to work on a bipartisan basis to build a consensus and a centrist position,” Snowe said during the interview. “And losing centrist voices in the United States Senate isn’t good for Maine, and it isn’t good for America.”

Pundits have often referred to Snowe as a RINO, a Republican in Name Only. Her voting record has been middle of the road at a time when the Republican Party nationally has veered further to the right.

Snowe said that politics and her position on Senate committees have enabled her to get things done in the Senate. She has reached out across the aisle and worked with members of her own caucus to help pass tax cuts, to get the Medicare prescription drug benefit, which she first backed in 1988, enacted into law, and to increase Internet access and bandwidth in schools and libraries in Maine and across the country.

With her swing vote on the floor and her voice on the Finance Committee, Snowe went against her own party on President Bush’s Social Security proposals last year.

“I’ve been able to prevent the diversion of revenues from the Social Security Trust Fund for the creation of personal savings accounts,” she said.

Snowe said she did not have any plans to campaign with administration officials, saying she prefers to campaign on who she is and what she stands for. “I don’t run on anybody’s coattails,” she said.

The president’s low approval ratings and the several scandals that have rocked the GOP can have an effect on the election, Snowe conceded. But she intends to base her campaign on her centrist values and her plans for her potential third term.

“We understand that people are very concerned about the direction of this country, and it’s a very volatile political environment,” Snowe said.

This promises to be a tough election season for the Republican Congress. While Snowe’s seat appears secure, several Republican senators are in tough races, notably Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania. There are also many volatile House races.

Snowe said it is too early to call the election for either party. She said there are always constant shifts in sentiment, and things could change before November.

Her advice to colleagues in tough races, Snowe said, is that they should focus not on polls or the views of pundits, but rather on their messages and on building a strong organization.

Snowe refused to weigh in on the Republican gubernatorial primary in Maine, saying that her party had several strong candidates and that she would let the voters decide in June.

She said Republicans have many good opportunities this fall in state elections. And where the Legislature is so tightly balanced, Snowe said, Republicans could take it as well.