BANGOR – Democratic congressional contenders David Costello and Lori Handrahan are hoping that, contrary to the old adage, you can go home again.

Both political unknowns recently returned to Maine from Washington, D.C., looking to capture their party’s nomination in the hotly contested race for Maine’s open 2nd District congressional seat.

Despite some opponents’ quiet grumbling about the largely self-financed campaigns of the two replanted Maine natives, both Costello and Handrahan said they are hopeful that their experiences abroad and inside the Beltway will prove to be assets in a primary where pundits predict a mere 20 percent of the vote could win a spot on the November ballot.

Among the youngest candidates in the race – Costello at 41 and Handrahan at 32 – neither makes apologies for moving away and then returning to Maine to seek the seat soon to be vacated by Rep. John Baldacci, who is running for governor.

“This is not about who’s spent the most time in Maine. This is about who can be more effective in Washington fighting for Maine,” Handrahan said Sunday in her Ellsworth campaign office. “A record in Augusta does not mean you know how to get things done in Washington.”

With Mainers traditionally leery of those “from away,” both Costello and Handrahan are quick to remind reporters and potential voters that they were born and raised in the state – Old Town and New Sharon, respectively. Although both have spent years away from their home state, those roots remain, they said.

“I hope people will say that even though he didn’t spend all of his time in Augusta, he’s accomplished some worthy goals,” said Costello, who did return to Maine for a time in the early 1990s to work for then-Secretary of State Bill Diamond. “I’ve never lost sight of my roots, and coming home and representing the people of the district.”

It was the district’s rare open seat, coupled with the absence of a big-name candidate, that helped lure both into the political free-for-all.

“There’s no George Mitchell. There’s not even a Pat McGowan,” Costello said Saturday at a Bangor coffee shop. “There is no big gorilla in this race.”

There may not be any big gorillas, but there are a lot of candidates.

The rest of the Democratic field includes Maine Senate President Michael Michaud of East Millinocket, state Sens. Susan Longley of Liberty and John Nutting of Leeds; former Sen. Sean Faircloth of Bangor and former Lewiston Mayor Kaileigh Tara.

On the Republican side, the candidates are Kevin Raye, former chief of staff to Sen. Olympia Snowe; Tim Woodcock, former Bangor mayor and aide to then-Sen. William Cohen; Maine Rep. Stavros Mendros of Lewiston and former Maine Rep. Richard Campbell of Holden.

Looking to distinguish themselves from their Democratic rivals – and each other – both Handrahan and Costello stress their differences. But the similarities between the two are hard to ignore.

Both attended the London School of Economics and Political Science, where Handrahan earned her doctorate and Costello, his master’s degree. Both waited on tables to help pay off student loans and settled in Washington to work after college.

Both spent time overseas, Costello as a U.S. foreign assistance officer in Haiti and the war-torn Balkans; and Handrahan as a human rights advocate in developing nations in Central Asia, Africa and Europe.

Both still own property in or around the nation’s capital.

In June, Costello moved to an apartment in Lewiston, where his mother lives. In August, Handrahan and her husband, a Washington, D.C., lawyer, bought the Sorrento post office building, where they live upstairs.

Moving home is one thing. But voters’ reception of the returning candidates is likely to depend on the tones of their campaigns, according to Bowdoin College political analyst Chris Potholm.

“If they come back on white horses with the idea that they’re going to tell the people of Maine what to do, that’s one thing,” Potholm said. “But if they can tell voters they’re happy to be back and are eager to represent them, Maine people will be very accepting of that.”

But before voters can accept a candidate, they have to be able to pick them out of a lineup.

Today, campaign money can buy an enviable amount of name recognition, and both candidates say they are prepared to lend themselves some considerable cash to put forth their platforms and make up for their early anonymity.

Before a Sunday afternoon meeting with her staff, Handrahan said she would inject $100,000 of her personal wealth into her month-old campaign, already giving it one of the biggest war chests in the race. Costello, who has raised about $21,000 thus far, said he would lend himself an additional $22,000 by the Jan. 31 reporting period.

Both said they’re looking for their messages, not their personal campaign contributions, to resonate with voters.

“This is not a state where the person with the most money is going to win,” Handrahan said. “One good thing about Maine is that people vote the person.”