1 rout, 2 nail-biters Gov. Baldacci cruises to victory

BANGOR – Gov. John Baldacci easily clinched the Democratic nomination Tuesday evening, winning roughly 75 percent of the vote against his relatively unknown opponent and setting up his effort to reclaim the Blaine House in November.

With 82 percent of precincts reporting in light voter turnout, Baldacci far outpaced his primary challenger, Christopher Miller of Gray, taking about 75.4 percent of the votes cast compared with Miller’s 24.6 percent, according to unofficial results compiled by the Bangor Daily News.

“This is the first leg,” Baldacci, 51, said from his family-owned restaurant, Baldacci’s, where supporters gathered to await results Tuesday evening. “It will be a vigorous campaign, and I look forward to it. I have the experience and the plan to move Maine forward.”

Miller, a 51-year-old Web site developer, called Baldacci at about 10:15 p.m. to concede. Although the results were lopsided, Miller, in a telephone interview from Portland, said he found the numbers encouraging.

“I’m happy with [the results], and it shows there are a lot of people who understand the issues,” said Miller, whose platform focused almost exclusively on energy conservation.

“I would think the Democratic Party would want to take a look at [the results],” he said.

Mark Brewer, a political scientist at the University of Maine, said Miller’s final vote tally could provide some insight into the general election, depending on who wins the close GOP primary race.

“It suggests there is a sizable number of Democrats who are unhappy enough with Baldacci to vote for a nobody in the primary,” said Brewer. “But in November that’s a much different matter. They might be unhappy, but are they unhappy enough to vote for somebody else?”

Late Tuesday night, it appeared Baldacci would face state Sen. Chandler Woodcock of Farmington, who had built a solid lead over state Sen. Peter Mills of Cornville.Brewer predicted the moderate Mills would have been the GOP candidate best positioned to pick up disaffected Democrats in the general election. A win by the more conservative Woodcock, he said, would put the more mainstream Baldacci in a stronger position.

“If I’m Baldacci, I’m hoping Woodcock wins,” Brewer said.

Baldacci arrived in his home city late Tuesday afternoon after first traveling from Kittery to Presque Isle. After voting at a Bangor middle school, Baldacci downplayed the high expectations pundits had put on his primary showing.

“As governor, you have to make tough choices, so you’re not going to please everybody,” Baldacci said. “That’s just the nature of the job.”

Tuesday’s contest marked the first time in 24 years a sitting governor has faced a primary opponent. In that 1982 race, Democratic Gov. Joseph Brennan of Portland handily defeated state Rep. Georgette Berube of Lewiston with 77 percent of the vote. Brennan went on to win re-election that year.

Although Baldacci’s popularity among voters has been suspect in past months, more recent polls have shown him rebounding.

In Old Town – where Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly 2 to 1 – primary voters were not inclined to break ranks with the better-known Baldacci.

“I understand him, and I think he understands the people of Maine,” Harris L. Dunn Jr., 68, said after voting at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Old Town. “I know the state of Maine is his primary concern.”

Mary Montville, 67, said she’s going to stick with Baldacci in the primary, although she “isn’t thrilled” about the way he has handled the recent closing of the paper mill in that city. And Montville, a “sometimes independent and sometimes Democrat,” wasn’t making any commitments in the general election.

“I’m going to listen to what everybody has to say,” she said.

As it stands, Montville will have to do a lot of listening with seven candidates qualifying for the Nov. 7 ballot.

Besides Baldacci and the GOP nominee, the fall ballot will include Maine Green Independent Party nominee Pat LaMarche of Yarmouth and four independent or nonparty candidates. They are state Rep. Barbara Merrill of Appleton, former state Rep. John Michael of Auburn, Falmouth businessman David John Jones and Phillip Morris NaPier of Windham, who ran a write-in candidacy for governor in 2002.