Coffers grow in Maine races Incumbents hold big cash advantage

Maine’s incumbent congressmen each have raised more than $400,000 for their re-election bids, far outpacing Republican challengers, according to the most recent filings with the Federal Election Commission.

U.S. Reps. Mike Michaud and Tom Allen, both Democrats, respectively have raised about $400,000 and $475,000 so far for their campaigns. Michaud of East Millinocket is running for a third term. Allen of Portland is seeking a sixth.

Michaud’s challenger, L. Scott D’Amboise of Lisbon, has raised less than the $5,000 needed to trigger an FEC filing. Allen’s challenger, state Rep. Darlene Curley of Scarborough, has raised about $26,000, including a $12,500 loan to her campaign, according to her report.

While the sizes of Michaud’s and Allen’s campaign coffers might be similar, there are differences in who is filling them, the reports show.

Roughly $300,000 of Michaud’s total has come from political action committees with the remaining $100,000 coming from individual donors.

In Allen’s case, the numbers are essentially reversed, with about $125,000 coming from PACs and $350,000 coming from individual donors.

Monica Castellanos, Michaud’s spokeswoman, said Monday that while the finance report might seem heavy on the PAC donations, many of them are from labor unions, the individual members of which have been supportive of Michaud.

Amy Fried, a political scientist at the University of Maine, said some of the differences in individual contributions between Michaud and Allen could be attributed to the differences in the congressional districts themselves.

Incomes in Michaud’s 2nd Congressional District, which comprises much of northern and eastern Maine, are relatively low in comparison to those in Allen’s southern Maine district, where individual donors might be easier to come by, she said.

But Fried said she didn’t believe money – whatever its source – would be a big factor in the congressional races.

“They are both pretty safe seats,” Fried said. “I don’t think either of them is in any real danger.”

D’Amboise, a former selectman in Lisbon, said his campaign’s initial focus has not been on raising money, but on organizing and meeting voters.

“I don’t need money to do that,” he said Monday.

In the last reporting period, covering the first three months of the year, Allen raised roughly $124,000 compared to Curley’s $26,000. Michaud raised about $110,000 during the period. D’Amboise raised less than $5,000.

At the end of March, Michaud had about $273,000 in the bank, while Allen had $297,000, according to the reports, which were filed Saturday.

But neither congressman’s total could compare to the amount raised by U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, who is seeking her third term.

Snowe, a Republican, has raised about $2.5 million to date, and has about $2 million left in the bank more than six months away from Election Day.

Snowe, who on Monday was named one of the 10 best senators by Time Magazine, will face one of two Democrats in November.

Democrats Jean Hay Bright of Dixmont and Eric Mehnert of Orono – both of whom have a small fraction of Snowe’s total campaign cash – are vying for their party’s nomination to challenge her.