BOSTON (Reuters) – Senator Olympia Snowe, one of the few remaining Republican moderates in Congress, announced on Tuesday that she will not seek re-election for a fourth six-year term, citing the attitude of toxic partisanship in Congress.

In a statement, Snowe said she was in good health and had “no doubt” she would have won re-election in November.

PORTLAND, Maine Feb 28 (Reuters) – - A passerby seeing
the imposing church building with its massive, red doors bearing
the word “Grace” and a mysterious triangular logo could be
forgiven for thinking they had stumbled upon some kind of
new-age congregation.

In a way that’s true, for Grace – the restaurant, housed in
a former United Methodist church in downtown Portland, Maine -
is now a temple of high-end dining. The two-year-old venture is,
visually at least, the crown jewel of the vibrant dining scene
in Maine’s largest city.

BOSTON (Reuters) – Republican candidate Rick Santorum has won support from American conservatives for his views on social issues but a habit of hyperbole may lead to stumbles in his White House bid.

In Boise, Idaho, on Tuesday, Santorum compared contraception to deodorant and soap when making a point about why he believes birth control should not be covered by health insurers.

PORTLAND, Maine (Reuters) – U.S. Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has a Rick Santorum problem that can’t be easily swept aside, even with wins in the sparsely attended Maine caucuses and a poll of conservative activists.

The former Massachusetts governor arguably has fewer effective weapons against Santorum than he was able to pull out against Newt Gingrich after getting a thumping in South Carolina from the former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

PORTLAND, Maine (Reuters) – Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney bounced back from midweek losses in three states to narrowly win Maine’s caucuses on Saturday, hours after winning a straw poll of Republican conservative activists.

Results of Maine’s non-binding straw poll showed the former Massachusetts governor with 39 percent support, or 2,190 votes, ahead of libertarian Texas Congressman Ron Paul with 36 percent or 1,996 votes.

PORTLAND, Maine (Reuters) – Maine’s Republican presidential caucuses look like a two-man race between Mitt Romney, the party’s current front-runner, and libertarian Ron Paul in a small-state contest that has taken on new importance for Romney after his losses in three states this week.

Voting in dozens of local caucuses across Maine’s 16 counties has been going on since late January. Results of a non-binding straw poll will be released by the state Republican Party around 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.

PORTLAND, Maine (Reuters) – He is the only one of the four contenders for the Republican presidential nomination not to have won a state primary or caucus.

But on Saturday, Ron Paul could get his best shot at a victory in Maine, the cold, far northeastern state that has given a warm reception to his libertarian views.

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. And Republican Newt Gingrich certainly will hope the disarray that marred his campaign in Nevada last week will not doom his White House bid as he heads toward a possible Super Tuesday last-stand next month.

Stinging losses to Mitt Romney in Florida and Nevada within a week have sucked much of the energy from the former House speaker’s shot at the Republican nomination to challenge President Barack Obama in the November 6 general election.