[ONLINESENTINEL] Sen. Angus King prompted a flurry of political speculation in the nation's Capitol on Thursday, a day after he parted ways with the Democratic majority and voted with Republicans against the Paycheck Fairness Act.
King, who has caucused and voted reliably with Democrats since his election in 2012, was asked whether the vote was a sign that he might consider caucusing with Republicans if the landscape of the Senate changes with the midterm elections in November.
Keeping his cards close as he often does, King did not rule it out.
"I'll make my decision at the time based on what I think is best for Maine," he told The Hill, a Washington, D.C.-based publication.
The headline in The Hill became "King may flip to GOP in 2015," but in reality, his comments do not represent any shift.
He's been saying for the last two years that he is not beholden to either party, even though he often sides with the majority Democrats -- who have made the paycheck legislation a political priority for the November election.
"Sen. King only told The Hill newspaper what he's always said -- that his guiding principle is, and always will be, to do what is right for Maine," his spokeswoman, Kathleen Connery Dawe, said Thursday. |