‘Star power’ = cash for candidates Pivotal races may mean more visits from D.C.

BANGOR – Maine’s congressional contests are drawing an unusual level of interest from the nation’s capital this year, with heavy hitters from both sides of the aisle expected to flock north to stump for their candidates.

On Monday, U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., a ranking member of the powerful Appropriations Committee, became the latest to stop in the city, this time on behalf of 2nd Congressional District hopeful Mike Michaud.

Like most of the Maine visits, the mission was twofold: Talk issues. Raise money.

In Hoyer’s case, the issue was protecting Social Security from Republican “budget gimmicks” – a Democratic staple at election time – and how Michaud’s experience as Senate chairman of the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee would prove valuable in Washington.

As for the money, Michaud’s press secretary Monica Castellanos said the visit was expected to net $15,000.

With control of the House and Senate up for grabs this November, campaign watchers expect more Capitol Hill elite to make the trek to Maine, where the open 2nd District race in particular has captured the interest of Washington insiders.

“The stakes are higher,” said Jim Melcher, a political science professor at the University of Maine at Farmington. “When you have a little star power, it sends a message that [party leaders] are taking your candidacy seriously.”

In a congressional district only narrowly carried by Al Gore in 2000, Republicans, too, are setting their sights on the seat, held by Democrat John Baldacci since 1992.

“We’re certainly encouraging as many party leaders as possible to head north,” acknowledged Lee Anne McBride of the Republican National Congressional Committee.

Before Baldacci, the seat was firmly in Republican hands, more specifically those of now-U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, and before that former Defense Secretary William Cohen.

This time around, it’s Kevin Raye, Snowe’s former chief of staff, looking to return the seat to the GOP.

The Eastport Republican last week reversed the Washington-to-Maine trend, netting an estimated $50,000 after traveling to the nation’s capital for an event with some homegrown political draws – Snowe and U.S. Sen. Susan Collins.

Another prominent Republican expected to make the familiar trip to Maine next month is the president himself, who will stump for Collins and the party at an invitation-only, $250-per-person fund-raiser in Scarborough.

Bush’s Aug. 3 visit would come just three weeks after Collins’ campaign netted about $50,000 with the appearance of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani in Cape Elizabeth.

Thus far in the Senate race, Democrats, too, have attracted their share of political powerhouses with the likes of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, whose May visit put an estimated $100,000 into the coffers of Collins’ rival, Democrat Chellie Pingree, and the Democratic Party.

Pingree aides said Monday that the campaign also has scheduled visits from Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., in the coming months.

While there may be more high-profile visits to come, they are unlikely to change many votes, pundits say.

“They’re useful in that they attract some attention,” Melcher said. “But the people who attend these things usually have their minds made up.”