ME: Party Primaries Leave Gubernatorial Race Open for Independents

From the Washington Independent:

Maine voters widened the opportunity to elect their third independent in six governors when they went to the polls, campaign watchers said Wednesday. What was once a field bulging with about two dozen candidates was winnowed to five Tuesday as Waterville Mayor Paul LePage scored a stunning win in the seven-way Republican primary, and state Senate President Libby Mitchell beat three rivals to win the Democratic nomination. The major party candidates join three independents in the race to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. John Baldacci.

Eliot Cutler, whose political background and access to funding make him the leading independent candidate, was quick to stake out the middle ground, saying the Democrats and Republicans "reverted to their old, ideological habits in a year when the vast majority of Maine voters could care less about party labels."