The Maine Green Independent Party became the first state party to choose Ralph Nader as its preferred presidential candidate, based on caucus results released this week.

The news comes amid renewed furor over a Nader candidacy, which most Democrats believe will do little more than siphon votes from presumptive Democratic nominee Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry.

The small party – seeking to lose its spoiler image – has been divided over whether to support Nader, who is running as an independent, or anyone at all for that matter.

Although Maine Greens might favor Nader, he trails in the race for the national party’s nomination, the current frontrunner for which is David Cobb, a Texas attorney virtually unknown outside the party and thus not considered a threat to the Kerry candidacy.

“There is no ‘right’ Green opinion on the presidential race this year, as viewpoints on the matter are across the entire spectrum,” said Ben Meiklejohn, the party’s Maine chairman.

Official results of the Maine caucus show Nader winning with 52 votes. The nearest contender was Cobb with 42. The Maine Greens will officially choose their nominee at their April convention in Lewiston.

Nowhere was the Democrats’ consternation about a Nader candidacy more evident than at Thursday’s “Unity Day” in Washington, where former President Jimmy Carter offered some advice to Nader, whom many Democrats blame for handing the election to George W. Bush in 2000.

“Don’t risk costing the Democrats the White House this year as you did four years ago,” Carter told a cheering crowd. “I hope everyone here tonight will do your best to make sure Ralph Nader gets zero votes this year.”

Recent polls suggest Nader, without a party affiliation, might have cut into Kerry’s support.

Kerry, boosted by his high profile during the Democratic primary, led Bush in a hypothetical matchup by as much as 9 percentage points in early March. An Associated Press poll released this week shows Bush up by three points, and Nader with 5 percent of the vote.

Dottie Melanson, chairwoman of the Maine Democratic Party, is watching the numbers closely.

“The most important thing is to remove this president, and John Kerry is the only avenue to do that,” she said Friday, noting many Greens have joined the Democrats this year to avoid a repeat of the 2000 election. “I think a lot of [Greens] are seeing the bigger picture.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.