Michaud faces historical challenges in Blaine House bid

Mike Michaud will be facing more than just Republican Gov. Paul LePage and independent Eliot Cutler if he chooses to run for the Blaine House – according to a new analysis by Smart Politics, a non-partisan news blog by a University of Minnesota professor, he’s also challenging history.

According to Eric Ostermeier, a research associate at the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance  at the university’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, only one third of current or former U.S. Representatives running for governor have won. Former Gov. John Baldacci was the first Democratic House member to win the seat since 1843, he writes.

“Michaud’s six terms in the House of Representatives – not exactly a popular institution these days – would represent a high water mark of service in the lower legislative chamber should he be elected governor of Maine in 2014,” Ostermeier adds.

For more historical analysis and a list of sitting or former congressmen who ran for governor since statehood in 1820, visit the Smart Politics site.

Rebekah Metzler

About Rebekah Metzler

Rebekah Metzler is a breaking news editor for CNN's digital politics team in Washington. Previously, she was a senior news editor with U.S. News and World Report, where she began her three-year tenure as a political writer. She spent much of 2012 on the road covering the presidential campaign in battleground states across the country. Metzler proudly tells all who will listen she hails from the great state of Maine where she covered state politics for the Lewiston Sun Journal and MaineToday Media. Metzler earned her master’s degree in journalism from Boston University and her undergraduate degree from Bowdoin College.