AUGUSTA – Control of the Senate may have shifted slightly toward the Republican Party on Monday after Democratic House Speaker Patrick Colwell unexpectedly announced his withdrawal from this fall’s District 21 race.

Colwell is a four-term legislator from Gardiner who ran a fast track through House leadership seats to become speaker in 2002. The 53-year-old floor tile installer and part-time nightclub band leader cited his pending divorce from his wife of 33 years as a key factor in his decision to drop out of the Senate campaign.

“I need to change the focus of my personal life and I have decided that I cannot do that as a public figure,” Colwell said.

Rickmond K. McCarthy, chief of staff for the Senate president’s office, acknowledged Colwell’s decision represented a setback for the Democratic majority since the speaker was perceived as a front-runner. Still, the party has time to field a viable candidate to meet the state’s July 12 deadline.

“We won’t have to scramble because there are a number of strong candidates out there,” he said.

But Dwyane Bickford, executive director of the Maine Republican Party, suspected Kennebec County Democrats will have to hustle to find a competitive opponent to run against GOP candidate Doug Newman of Gardiner. This fall’s campaign for the southern Kennebec County seat will be Newman’s second after losing to Senate Democratic Majority Leader Sharon A. Treat of Gardiner in 2002.

After numerous recounts in 2002, Democrats managed to secure a senate majority of a single vote. In the 2000 session, the Senate was divided 17-17 between the two major parties and featured Jill M. Goldthwait of Bar Harbor as the body’s single independent member whose vote frequently broke partisan deadlocks.

“It was going to be a competitive district for us,” Bickford said. “Now that the speaker of the House is not running, it certainly gives our candidate a better chance since he’s been campaigning for the past four months. The control of the state Senate is definitely up in the air, but we feel we’ve recruited great candidates.”

Not only was Colwell’s withdrawal viewed as a setback for Democratic hopes for a majority, it also added a certain level of uncertainty over future leadership choices. Both Senate President Beverly Daggett, D-Augusta, and Treat are leaving office because of legislative term limits. Well-liked by Democratic lawmakers, Colwell was being urged to seek a leadership post upon election to his first term and, possibly, consider the Senate presidency if his party won the majority of the chamber’s 35 seats.

Additionally, Colwell’s decision not to run for the Senate held potential repercussions for Gov. John E. Baldacci. Although the Democratic governor frequently had his share of disagreements with Senate Democratic leaders in the last session, Baldacci could always count on Colwell’s support to rally House Democrats on key votes.

“That doesn’t mean Colwell and the governor always agreed, but at least they disagreed agreeably,” said one administration staffer.

Colwell plans to maintain residence in Gardiner and serve out the balance of his term as speaker of the House.

“I do love politics and I love people,” ” Colwell said. “I’ve loved being able to make a difference for those people – particularly those who may not have had the good opportunities that I’ve had. It’s just that I’ve gone through a lot of personal change, and it’s time to kind of reflect and put that together.”