Snowe, Collins make ’08 wish list Poll: Mainers would back presidential runs

Neither of Maine’s two U.S. senators is running for president, but a newly released national survey suggests Mainers think they could.

U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, both Republicans, were two of eight women included among the White House Project’s list of potential presidential contenders in 2008.

In their home state, Collins and Snowe finished first and second in the straw poll, respectively, receiving 48 percent and 21 percent of the votes cast. The statewide results were released Thursday.

Nationwide, however, the pair didn’t fare as well. Collins placed seventh and Snowe eighth in the hypothetical eight-way contest featuring some of the nation’s most politically powerful women, including potential Democratic nominee U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Rounding out the eight White House Project “nominees” were Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, a Democrat; U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas; Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, a Democrat; and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sibelius, a Democrat.

The White House Project is a nonpartisan New York-based group focused on advancing the political careers of women. The full results of the “8 for ’08” survey will be released in this weekend’s Parade magazine.

Marie Wilson, the project’s founder, said she hoped the results would demonstrate that there is no shortage of viable women candidates for the nation’s highest office.

“There are many people who could be standing on the hilltops of Iowa and New Hampshire, running for president,” Wilson said, referencing the states with the earliest primary contests. “We could have just as many women who are qualified and who could be running.”

Clinton and Rice, dubbed the “rock stars” of the survey by Wilson, easily finished first and second in the nationwide straw poll, which is not a scientific survey.

The remaining six candidates all received between 3 percent and 6 percent of the vote.

People were asked to vote either on the project’s Web site or by mail.

While neither Snowe nor Collins made it out of the single digits nationally, Wilson said she was impressed by their strength at home.

“Some people don’t think people in their state can lead nationally,” Wilson said. “Obviously people in Maine think of their people as national leaders.”

Both senators, through their spokeswomen, said they were proud to be on the list but had no inclination to make a play for the White House.

“Senator Collins is truly flattered by the number of Mainers who believe she would be a good presidential candidate,” said her spokeswoman, Jen Burita. “At this time, however, she continues to enjoy the honor of serving the people of Maine in the U.S. Senate.”

“Even being on the list was a tremendous honor and it goes to show that working hard is important,” said Snowe spokeswoman Antonia Ferrier, similarly stressing that Snowe has no intention of relinquishing her Senate seat.

Snowe is up for re-election this year, seeking her third term. In November, she will face one of two Democrats, either Jean Hay Bright of Dixmont or Eric Mehnert of Orono, vying for that party’s nomination.

Collins is up for re-election in 2008.

Both senators consistently rank among the most popular in the nation among their constituents, based on monthly tracking polls. Depending on the month, they rank between first and third in terms of popularity. This month, they tied for second.

In this week’s issue of Time magazine, Snowe was ranked as one of the 10 best senators in the nation. She was the only woman to make that list.