With its recent flip-flopping from liberal to conservative and back to liberal, the 1st Congressional District is the conundrum of Maine politics, the proverbial enigma wrapped in a riddle.

If Republicans are to get this puzzling House seat back on the right side of the aisle, if they are to add Democrat Tom Allen’s name to the growing list of former comgressmen, they would do well to back a candidate whose conservatism is tempered with the moderation that comes from experience. State Rep. David Ott is such a candidate.

There is no great chasm between the views of the four-term legislator from York and his opponent in the primary, businessman Ross Connelly of Biddeford. Both believe in restrained government, in the sovereignty of the people, in meaningful tax reform, in strong defense.

It is in the nuances that Ott stands out. Connelly, a former executive with the Bechtel organization and a newcomer to politics, tends to see things in black and white; less government is better government. Ott’s eight years in Augusta, his work as an assistant district attorney and his service as a community volunteer have taught him the value of gray. On several issues, such as health care and child care, Ott demonstrates an understanding that government has an important role to play, especially in regards to society’s less fortunate members. Should he prevail in the general election, the reputation he has earned in the state Legislature as a consensus-builder would make him a valuable addition to a Congress increasingly bogged down by partisanship.

Connelly has run an energetic campaign, he has fire and conviction. His brief — just two year’s — residency in Maine, however, is a drawback. Maine has a small, relatively cloutless delegation; it needs all the knowledge of local concerns it can get. And some of Connelly’s positions need rethinking. A major plank of his platform, a renewed commitment to the multi-billion-dollar Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars), is baffling, given that the major external threat to this country is from chemical, biological or nuclear weapons delivered in a suitcase, not via an ICBM.

The wise primary voter also takes into consideration each candidate’s potential to win the general election, and here Ott again prevails. This race has a wild card — independent Eric Greiner, who is running under the unofficial Taxpayers Party banner. The votes Greiner receives in November will come from the Republican right, but Ott is more capable of compensating for the loss by capturing some of the moderate middle.

First District Republicans have two strong candidates from which to chose, the difference is experience. Connelly needs seasoning. Ott is ready.