I’ve heard you have to be careful of what you wish for — but as we roll into 2016, there are some interesting political changes in the wind here in Maine and nationally with a presidential election on the horizon.

The first is that every seat in the Legislature is again up for grabs, as they are every two years — but this year, there is a lobster-boat load of lawmakers who are being termed out of office — putting a number of seats into the toss-up category.

And as candidates start to emerge, there is an announcement that Everett “Brownie” Carson, the former and longtime executive director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, will seek a Brunswick-area state Senate seat.

Carson, of course, is an iconic Mainer and a darling in land conservation and environmental protection groups. His name recognition is considerable and his chops at the State House are already pretty well established.

Carson, a Democrat, is hoping to win the seat of termed-out Sen. Stan Gerzofsky, also a Democrat. No Republican challenger has yet emerged, but candidates could only start collecting nomination signatures as of New Year’s Day, so there is still plenty of time for that.

Pundits, pollsters and political operatives from across the state are predicting a variety of developments and upheavals in the world of politics for 2016 – and of course, none of them are in complete agreement.

From the conservative right, predictions range from speculation that Donald Trump will eventually peter out and the GOP will pick Marco Rubio for their presidential nominee in 2016 to Trump taking us to a new and perhaps more volatile time in American politics — with some making the bold prediction that Maine’s Republican Gov. Paul LePage will be tapped as Trump’s running mate.

Both men have a penchant for eschewing all things politically correct, and in doing so, have tapped into the support of work-a-day voters and high-rolling donors.

In a tweet last week, LePage once again admonished the Maine media for not fully understanding his intent with the gifting of a book to certain Republican lawmakers in Maine.

“Foolish media,” the governor tweeted. “The book wasn’t about 1 issue, rather how politicians are distracted by wrong solutions in order to be PC.”

Of course, for LePage to join Trump’s ticket, he would first have to resign his office, putting state Sen. President Michael Thibodeau, R-Winterport at the helm of state government. Thibodeau and LePage have not enjoyed cordial relations since the senator worked to reach a compromise on a state budget in 2015 that did not cut taxes as much as LePage wanted.

One conservative pundit even suggested that a dark horse GOP candidate would emerge to steal the show later this summer and that none of those currently in the spotlight would prevail. The Maine GOP has also changed the way it selects its preferred presidential candidate with a statewide caucus in March that could also put Maine in the national political spotlight, depending on how things unfold between now and then.

From the liberal left, the predictions range from the notion that former First Lady, U.S. Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be the final nominee to the idea that another scandal will rock her campaign and put her on the ropes, leaving the door open for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Equally interesting are predictions on who will become Clinton or Sanders’ respective running mates.

Clinton’s running mate? Many think former San Antonio Mayor and now Housing Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro will be her partner as Clinton seeks to secure not only the huge chunk of the Electoral College that belongs to Texas but also a running mate who has clout with Latinos — a counterweight to a Republican nominee such as Rubio or U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

Castro visited Lewiston this summer with none other than U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. While both were focused on homeless teens during the visit, the trip gave Castro a high-profile photo opportunity and introduction to Maine voters with one of the state’s most beloved and most moderate politicians.

As for Sanders, at least one pundit has suggested, Maine’s own U.S. Sen. Angus King, officially an independent who caucuses with Democrats, could get Sanders’ attention in the weeks ahead. Others have flat-out rejected the notion, suggesting instead that King will stay focused on his work in the Senate. 

“LePage stays governor and spends the entire year threatening to run against Angus but ultimately doesn’t do it,” one operative wrote in a message to the Sun Journal.

Meanwhile, another Republican pundit suggested at least two GOP senators would leave the party in 2016. While they went unnamed, the implication is clear that it would be Augusta’s Sen. Roger Katz and Wilton’s Sen. Tom Saviello – both of whom have also raised LePage’s ire by siding with their Democratic colleagues on several issues, the most critical being an expansion of Medicaid.

All of which leads us to the next prediction that the state Senate will be returned to Democratic control in 2016 — largely a result of the now-Republican majority’s disharmonious relationship with LePage. 

One insider suggested that flip in power would be the result of Republican Senate candidates being unable to raise funds or support to adequately fend off Democrats in the battle for control of the State House. The split in the Senate going into 2017 will undoubtedly be a close one, with Republicans possibly holding onto only 14 to 17 of the 35 Senate seats.

The other side of that Legislative coin is Democrats could lose their control of the House with 15 members retiring or being termed out of office. Republicans need only to win a handful — five or six seats — from Democrats to regain the rule of the roost in the “People’s House.”

Which, of course, would lead to speculation as to who would be the GOP pick for Speaker of the House. Watch this session to see who is posturing for that leadership post and if anybody beyond the minority leader Rep. Ken Fredette, R-Newport, rises to a more prominent role.

Local politicos will undoubtedly be closely watching a handful of rising freshmen stars in both parties, including state Rep. Jared Golden, D-Lewiston and state Sen. Eric Brakey, R-Auburn. Golden, a vet himself, has tackled a host of veterans’ issues with good success, and Brakey has gained respect — if not some notoriety — for his effort to make Maine a so-called “Constitutional carry” state, which puts the gun-rights lobby solidly in his corner.

Political observers should also keep a close eye on veteran state Rep. Ellie Espling, R-New Gloucester, the current assistant minority leader. Espling, unlike some of her more boisterous colleagues, has shown a steady and thoughtful — if not downright calming — hand in her dealings with others from both sides of the aisle on a host of hot-button issues.

Espling, along with state Sen. Nate Libby, D-Lewiston, are not daily grabbing headlines or sound bites, but both are quiet shakers and movers who seem to always put the interests of their constituents far ahead of their own political agenda or ambition.

Both are also workhorses for their respective parties and could easily be tapped to higher leadership roles in the weeks ahead. 

One of the most clever, tongue-in-cheek predictions for the coming political year I saw last week came from State House Democratic staffer Dan Ankeles, who tweeted: “Both so-called bases — in a shocking twist — continue to be unhappy, literally all the time.”

And so we do need to be careful of what we wish for. 

sthistle@sunjournal.com