Angus King: I'm the two parties' worst nightmare

Former Maine Gov. Angus King (I) has made no deal with Democrats and will seek to avoid caucusing with either party if elected to the Senate, he said in an interview where he called himself "the two parties' worst nightmare."

King, an independent, dramatically altered the race to replace retiring Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) when he announced last week he would run. Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) got out of the race soon after, leading Republicans to assume that King had struck a deal with Senate Democrats to caucus with them, essentially handing Democrats a seat they wouldn't have to spend to pick up.

But King told NBC affiliate WLBZ that the notion of striking a deal was antithetical to the reason he was running.

"The whole notion of what I'm trying to do here is get down there and shake things up," King said. "If I said I'm going to caucus with the Democrats or caucus with the Republicans, I'd be giving the game away."

King said he had made no decisions and hadn't discussed the matter with either Pingree or the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. He said if at all possible, he won't caucus with either party.

"If the numbers work out in such a way that it would be beneficial to Maine, that's the bass upon which I'm going to make the decision," he said.

Political observers read those remarks as a signal that King would caucus with whichever party holds the majority come November. That would give King a better shot at prime committee and leadership posts.

But the real prospect exists that in a closely divided Senate, King will be the wildcard whose decision about where to cast his lot could determine control of the upper chamber.

With no major Democratic candidates challenging King and the Republican field still taking shape, King appears to be the early front-runner to replace Snowe, who cited Senate gridlock and partisanship when she announced in February she would not seek another term.

Watch the interview:

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