A snapshot of McGowan's campaign, from staffer Ben Goodman:

With my Down East column on Pat McGowan now online, I've completed my series of interviews with each of the Democratic candidates.

The others: Rosa Scarcelli, Libby Mitchell, Steve Rowe

Now I just need to figure out who to vote for.

Pat McGowan's first TV ad hits the airwaves today. It's a minute-long mix of biography and issues.

McGowan is the first Democrat to begin advertising on TV and (I believe) the first candidate in either party to air an ad longer than thirty seconds.

Quote of the day:

"I like Olympia Snowe, I think she fights hard for the people of Maine[...] Olympia Snowe -- I voted for her in the last election and I will vote for her until the day she dies, because she fights for Maine."
                                                                                        - Pat McGowan on MPBN

In other, non-Richardson campaign news, Pat Mcgowan today announced his official campaign song, "Back in Maine" by Maine singer/songwriter Mark Miller:

A bit slower than most campaign anthems.

How to fundraise on St. Patrick's Day:

As millions of Americans gather today to celebrate their Irish heritage, I wanted to let you know that I’m supporting my friend Patrick McGowan in his campaign for Governor of Maine[...]

Concerned about the corrosive influence of special interests money in politics, Pat is running as a Clean Elections candidate. Your commitment of just $5 will help Pat qualify for Maine’s Clean Election Fund.

Please accept my best wishes on St. Patrick’s Day – and please join me in supporting a great Irish-American, Patrick McGowan, for Governor of Maine.

Sincerely,
Joseph P. Kennedy II

How not to fundraise on St. Patrick's day:

Top of the Morning To You![...]

On this day of wearing the green... how about sending some greenbacks to help fund this important campaign for Maine's future?

I'm not asking for the whole Pot O' Gold - but would appreciate at least $17 on March 17. Or maybe you can do the work of ten or even twenty Leprechauns by donating $170 or $340.[...]

Matt [Jacobson]

Dan Billings takes a look at what might have happened if Pat McGowan had won his close race against Olymia Snowe in 1990.

Pat McGowan got plenty of airtime for his announcements today. The media seems to now be paying some real attention to the governor's race.

Fort Kent:

Bangor:

Portland:

With the launch of Pat McGowan's campaign today, the Democratic gubernatorial field now seems complete. The other major candidates are Libby Mitchell, John Richardson, Steve Rowe and Rosa Scarcelli.

In addition to launch events in Fort Kent, Bangor and Portland, the McGowan campaign is now up on the web, facebook and twitter.

Here's the now-requisite introductory youtube video:

McGowan seems to be having a good press day. In addition to a smattering of stories this morning on his announcement (including a front-pager from the Morning Sentinel, where McGowan's mother was once editor) there was also an AP piece by Glenn Adams in the Bangor Daily News titled "Outdoors enthusiasts delight in state’s conservation efforts" which quotes the new candidate and meshes perfectly with Mcgowan's campaign persona as an outdoorsman and experienced executive.

Pat McGowan resigned from his job as Maine's Conservation Commissioner today to seek the Democratic nomination for governor. McGowan, shown here not crashing his plane, is a former state representative and ran for Congress in the second district in 1990 and 1992, offering a tough challenge to then-Representative Olympia Snowe.

With many of the other Gubernatorial candidates hailing from southern Maine, McGowan's support in the second District may be a significant advantage. He plans to make his first campaign announcement tomorrow at 7am in Fort Kent.

State Rep. Dawn Hill, who was considered to be in the bottom tier of Democratic gubernatorial candidates and who hadn't seemed to be doing much campaigning, dropped out of the race on Thursday, citing an increasingly competitive Democratic field.

Hill plans to seek the Distict 1 State Senate seat, which is apparently being vacated by two-term incumbent Democrat Peter Bowman. District 1 was supposed to be a very competitive race last year, with Bowman facing off against former Republican Senator Mary Black Andrews, but Bowman ended up winning by a wide margin.

Elizabeth Mitchell's campaign has released a poll showing the Maine Senate President trouncing three potential Democratic opponents in the June 2010 primary election.

When asked who they would vote for if the election were held tomorrow between Mitchell, Steve Rowe, Patrick McGowan and Dawn Hill, 37% chose Mitchell, 20% Rowe, 10% McGowan, and 3% Hill.

In a head-to-head match up, Mitchell beats Rowe 46% to 24%.

According to campaign volunteer Jodi Quintero, the poll is independent and was conducted before Mitchell entered the race by research firm Kiley and Company. Mitchell was then approached by the firm and chose to purchase certain questions from the survey for release.

The firm interviewed 301 Maine Democratic Primary voters (a relatively small sample size) on July 21-22, 2009. No other methodological information is given. Rosa Scarcelli, John Richardson and other current and potential Democratic candidates were not included in the poll.

Daily Kos/Research 2000 also released a Maine poll today showing every Democratic candidate polled beating every Republican, except for a match up between Steve Rowe and Les Otten, where Otten edges Rowe by 1%.

Full results after the jump...