Maine: Herbert Hoffman

This guy ran the numbers for the 2008 US Senate elections across the country and calculated the amount spent by each candidate per vote earned.

The results show that Tom Allen spent $21 for every vote he received in November, making his run the most costly unsuccessful major-party challenge to an incumbent anywhere in the country, per vote. Allen's votes were cheaper only compared to the candidates in tight races in Alaska and New Hampshire and incumbent Max Baucus' campaign in Montana.

Susan Collins spent more money, but also won a lot more votes, resulting in an expenditure of $17 per vote.

Those numbers pale in comparison to the third party per-vote expenditures.

The Maine Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the Democratic Party and will take Herb Hoffman, an independent Senate candidate, off the November ballot.

The Democrats, who are hoping to knock off Republican Sen. Susan Collins with Rep. Tom Allen, argued successfully that Hoffman's campaign did not gather enough valid signatures to make the ballot.

The court wrote in its decision:

Independent U.S. Senate candidate Herb Hoffman would have gladly attended the town hall meetings proposed by Democratic candidate Tom Allen, his campaign said today.

Allen had proposed four meetings in Maine’s smaller communities to talk about issues in this election. Collins declined, citing a full campaign schedule.

When asked about Hoffman, Allen’s Spokeswoman Carol Andrews told PolitickerME Tuesday, “We are running against Susan Collins so we invited her.”

The campaign of Independent U.S. senatorial candidate Herb Hoffman (I-Ogunquit) announced Thursday that Lynn Ellis of Brunswick had been hired as campaign manager. The hospice social worker had previously volunteered for the campaigns of Dennis Kucinich, Tom LeDue and Jean Hay Bright and currently serves as the State Coordinator of the campaign to establish a U.S. Department of Peace and Nonviolence.

Hoffman said in a statement that Ellis was his first choice for the position.