The room of the House of Representatives in the Maine State House in Augusta, seen from the speaker’s dais. Picture by Jim Neuger for the Maine Morning Star
All 151 seats in the House of Representatives and all 35 seats in the Senate will be up for election in November.
With Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and votes in both houses of the Legislature since 2018, Democrats have had all three types of power.
But 43 seats in the Maine Senate and House are open and not being held by an incumbent. This means that either party can add to its total, and some of these races are raising a lot more money than usual for a state race.
Get a better look at the races that matter for the Nov. 5 election.
There is a lot of money for open Senate spots.
To be fair, there are eight Senate spots open that are split evenly between the two parties.
Republicans aren’t running for District 28 in Cumberland County, where House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross is trying to replace state Sen. Ben Chipman, who is leaving his job this year. This means that the Democrats will keep one of their seats.
The other seven races, on the other hand, are very open, and some of them have become very expensive.
Both Democrats and Republicans have put a lot of money into the race for District 24 in Sagadahoc County. Former state Rep. Denise Tepler is trying to keep the seat blue. She has raised more than $65,000, which is about $10,000 more than Jeffrey Pierce, the Republican running against her.
Reagan LaRochelle resigned from the Maine House in Kennebec County, but he is now running against Republican state Sen. Matt Pouliot in Senate District 15. Pouliot said in January that he wouldn’t be running for re-election.
As of August 19, LaRochelle had earned almost $68,000, which was more than any other person running for office.
The Democrats are also putting money into trying to take over Senate District 19 in Oxford County, which was held by Lisa Keim as a Republican. As of August 19, Democrat Bruce Byrant had raised more than $80,000, which was the second most of any candidate for a legislative spot this election. He will be up against Joseph Martin, a Republican.
There are also five people who are raising the most money to help Bettyann Sheats win District 20 in Androscoggin County. She is a former state representative. Since Republican Eric Brakey is moving Maine to lead a libertarian group in New Hampshire, the Democrat has raised almost $75,000 to turn the district blue.
Sheats will be running against Dustin Ward, who is not registered, and former state Rep. Bruce Bickford, who is a Republican.
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, which is part of the national party and works to win state governments across the country, has put a lot of attention on both Sheats and LaRochelle.
As temporary communications director for the DLCC, Samantha Paisley said that the group helps candidates run “winning and successful campaigns” by giving them resources and support. This could mean hiring people or helping with other parts of the campaign’s organization.
Democrats are on the defensive in races for the House
Twenty-three of the 35 House places that don’t have an incumbent running for office were last held by Democrats. One of the spots was held by an independent, and the other 13 were filled by Republicans.
There are no Republicans running against Democrats in Districts 93, 118, 129, and 132, so the Democrats are sure to keep all four seats. Districts 18 and 36 are the only seats that Republicans are sure to keep. While there aren’t any Democrats running for office in other House races, those races aren’t a safe thing either because there are third-party candidates.
Either party needs 76 members to take over the House. There were 82 Democrats, 67 Republicans, and 2 independents in the 131st Legislature. Twenty-nine seats could change hands in the 132nd, giving Democrats not much room to keep their control.
The big Senate races are getting a lot of money, but most House races aren’t getting as much.
The Republican candidate for Auburn mayor, Laurel Libby, has earned almost $125,000, which is a lot more than any other candidate in the legislature. There will be a Democrat running against Libby for a third term. Campbell has raised a little more than $17,000.
The Dinner Table PAC was started by Alex Titcomb and Libby in 2021 with the goal of getting a majority of conservatives in the Maine House. The group has officially backed a few candidates for the general election, but it is not allowed to work with campaigns.
The Maine Ethics Commission says that during the general election, the Dinner Table spent between $1,000 and $8,000 on five Republican candidates who are running in races where there is no incumbent and where they could win. Some of them are Marcus Emerson (District 59), Arthur Mingo (District 9), Randall Gauvin (District 75), Rolf Olsen Jr. (District 86), and Quentin Chapman (District 88).
Emerson is running for the spot that LaRochelle is giving up.
The Dinner Table has also spent a little less than $8,000 to back Republican Amy Bell in her bid to beat Democratic candidate Anne-Marie Mastraccio in District 142. The group also backs Republican Ray Thombs Jr., who is running against William Pluecker, an independent, for District 44.
Titcomb told the Maine Morning Star that he couldn’t explain why the group picked those candidates in particular.