Election reflections

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    Now that the dust has settled and most of the campaign signs have been taken down — hopefully — it’s time to reflect on the June 10 primary.
    I predicted that Bruce Poliquin would win the Republican nomination for the 2nd Congressional District. The only surprise was his margin of victory. I thought he might squeak in by a 51-49 percent margin, but the final results were 56-44 percent.

    So what happened?
    First, a very small percentage of voters turn out in primaries. Those that do cast ballots are usually diehard liberals or staunch conservatives.
    Many people like Kevin Raye personally, but it’s no secret that he irritates conservatives.
    On the other hand, Poliquin was very candid about his positions on same-sex marriage, abortion and other right-of-center issues.
    Also, his two years as treasurer and unsuccessful campaigns for governor and U.S. Senator at least increased his name recognition among voters, even those who don’t like him.
    Most Democrats are delighted that Poliquin won. They figured that Emily Cain would have a tough time beating Raye since they share a lot of similar views.
    But I wouldn’t bet the family farm on the race just yet. If Poliquin can energize the unenrolled voters in the district as effectively as he did the conservatives, anything could happen in November.
    Closer to home, an incumbent Republican state senator lost a primary race for the first time in memory. Paul Davis upset Doug Thomas, thus taking his first step toward returning to the senate in November.
    So what happened here? As the story goes, Thomas considered not running for reelection because he was becoming disenchanted with the legislature. There was more partisan bickering and many bills introduced by Republicans were usually ignored or spiked in committee hearings.
    Davis, a former senate minority leader, got wind of Thomas’ plans and announced that he would be glad to run for the seat.
    Thomas, however, changed his mind. Davis didn’t. He stuck to his guns and said he was committed to running.
    Another factor was the redistricting that placed Davis’ hometown of Sangerville into Pete Johnson’s legislative district. Johnson was termed out, so retired SAD 4 superintendent Paul Stearns jumped in the race.
    So Davis could have run against Stearns for the open House seat — which would have caused some real heartburn — or Thomas who apparently seemed vulnerable.
    Davis now faces Democrat David Ziemer of Orneville in the November election.
    Considering the demographics of Piscataquis — the “reddest county in Maine” — Davis will probably be commuting from Sangerville to Augusta starting next winter.
    In case you’re wondering, I didn’t vote. I’m unenrolled, so I couldn’t vote in the primary.
    My school budget was on the ballot, but I’ve never liked the “two bites of the apple” system of approving a budget at a district meeting, and then going to the polls and voting on it again. So I usually don’t.
    Mike Lange is a staff writer with the Piscataquis Observer. His opinions are his own and don’t necessarily reflect those of this newspaper.