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	Podcast:		Maine Things Considered
	Episode:		Despite Obstacles, Maine Independents Hope Dissatisfaction Drives Voters
	Category:		Government & Organizations
	Duration:		00:05:18
	Publish Date:		2018-05-22 15:37:57
	Description:		With the filing deadline of June 1, it’s not clear whether a record number of Maine independents will qualify to seek office this year. But many of them feel they have an advantage, even though they have to work harder to get elected. By their very nature, independents are a diverse group ranging in philosophy from more conservative to strongly progressive. And they face several obstacles in getting elected over party nominees. (ExplainMaine: Why is Maine so Politically Independent? ) Ron Schmidt, a professor of political science at the University of Southern Maine, says party nominees have some built-in advantages, such as get-out-the-vote campaigns run by the parties and independent advertising for candidates by party committees. And he says the parties spend a lot of effort communicating with their members as part of their fundamental goal. “Who can get their voters to the polls. The parties have infrastructure to do that. I’m registered with one of the two major parties and I say
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