Political campaigns, which start far too soon to suit the tastes of most voters, begin even earlier for the leaders of the major parties, who must worry not only about strategy and winning races, but also about the more fundamental problem of finding people willing to run for office, a major problem in state legislative races.

The challenge of lining up candidates is a contest in itself. This year, both of Maine’s major parties are claiming victory, of sorts, evidence that in politics, even success is relative.

The Democrats, who have had a headlock on the legislative process for far too long, expect to maintain their dominance. In the House, they have a candidate for every seat. In the Senate, all but one of the 35 seats will be contested by a Democrat. More telling, say Democrats: Their candidates have 23 free rides into the House and four into the Senate. No Republicans are on the ballot to oppose them.

The Republicans, who have carried a political minority stigma throughout the entire careers of many of their senators and representatives, think the Campaign ’90 numbers add up to a different conclusion. The GOP concedes that the Democrats have more candidates for House seats, but it quickly points out that the Republicans have the greater number of new candidates: 83 recruits vs. the Democrats’ 64.

The Republican Party also points with pride to the fact that 25 percent of its candidates are women and 20 percent are under the age of 35. Democrats can snicker at such numbers, but they indeed are a sign of progress for the state Republican Party, which in the ’80s realized it was headed for extinction unless it shook its image as a private club for males of late middle age.

Maine voters and taxpayers must understand that although the GOP apparatus is responsible for its precarious political position, there is much at stake for the public in the gross imbalance of party affiliation in the state House.

Democracy thrives when there is open confrontation and competition between differing ideas of how society should be influenced by government. The problem in Maine has not been a lack of those ideas — they exist in abundance — but an absence of genuine competition on the legislative level.

No party should have absolute control over the process of making laws. When that happens, there is no debate, no balance and, ultimately, no choice.