Replacement candidates selected Party leaders decide rosters for November races after 38 bow out

The November lineup of State House hopefuls became final Monday – the deadline for the state’s three political parties to replace candidates who dropped out of their legislative races earlier this month.

Party leaders had spent the past two weeks plugging holes in their rosters after 38 candidates ended their campaigns in the aftermath of the June primary elections.

Democrats filled all nine of their House vacancies by Monday’s 5 p.m. cutoff, according to the Maine Secretary of State’s Office. As a result, Democrats will field a candidate in all but one of the 186 House and Senate seats up for grabs in November.

Republicans filled all but six of their 27 vacancies, and will have 180 total candidates on the general election ballot.

The Maine Green Independent Party filled both of its vacancies and will field 12 candidates in November.

Democrats hold a 19-16 edge in the Maine Senate, and a 74-73 edge in the Maine House, where there are also three independents and one Green representative.

Ben Dudley, chairman of the Maine Democratic Party, said Monday the replacement candidates completed a solid roster for the party, vying to keep control of the Legislature.

“The folks I’ve met so far have been dynamite,” he said. “This is a strong group.”

Ben Gilman, political director for the Maine Republican Party, said that despite the handful of unfilled races, the GOP had its own designs on setting the agenda in Augusta.

“We have our team on the field, and we’re confident we will win a majority in the House and Senate,” he said.

The Republican vacancies are in traditionally Democratic districts – including Aroostook County’s St. John Valley and the southern Maine city of Biddeford.

In Bangor, the GOP was able to fill its two House vacancies.

In District 15, on the west side of the city, Republicans chose Scott Dunbar, who runs a construction company, to replace Gary George. Dunbar will challenge state Rep. Jacqueline Norton, a Democrat seeking her fourth term.

In District 17, on the city’s east side, Republican John Kasten, a counselor, will replace Alfred Gagne. Kasten will face state Rep. Sean Faircloth, D-Bangor, and independent Michael Turcotte on the November ballot.

In other notable local races, state Sen. S. Peter Mills, R-Cornville, will try to reclaim his Senate seat for the GOP after losing the party’s nomination for governor in June. Mills replaced state Rep. Maitland Richardson of Skowhegan in the senate race, and will face former state Rep. Paul Hatch, a Democrat from Skowhegan, in the November election.

In Waldo County, local Republicans chose Michael Thibodeau of Winterport to replace state Rep. Jeffrey Kaelin, R-Winterport, in the House District 42 race. Kaelin, a two-term incumbent, withdrew his candidacy amid the fallout from a drunken driving charge. Thibodeau will square off against Democrat Donna Gilbert, also of Winterport.

For a complete list of candidates, visit the Secretary of State’s Office Web page at www.maine.gov/sos and look under Elections and Voting.