Democrats got a bit of bad news yesterday in the Maine Senate race, when the secretary of state overruled the Maine Democratic Party's bid to challenge left-wing independent candidate Herbert Hoffman's ballot petitions.

Hoffman, whose anti-war platform could potentially win votes that would have otherwise gone to Democrat Tom Allen, was found to have 38 valid signatures more than were necessary to get on the ballot.

Incumbent Republican Susan Collins has led Allen in all the polls, but the most recent survey from Rasmussen found it to be turning into a single-digit race.