LAMOINE – U.S. Rep. Tom Allen told a crowd of more than 100 state party supporters Saturday that his campaign to dethrone incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins is a moment of great opportunity for the Democratic party.

“There are only a handful of places where a Democrat has a chance to unseat a sitting senator and [Maine] is one of them,” Allen told members of the Maine Democratic Party at the group’s annual Muskie Lobster Bake at Lamoine State Park.

While Allen spoke passionately about his campaign and the differences between him and Collins, perhaps Saturday’s most inspired comments came from one of the few people at the event not from Maine.

Featured speaker Ned Lamont – a Democrat from Connecticut who challenged and defeated Sen. Joe Lieberman in a primary election in 2006 – threw his support behind Allen. Lamont ultimately lost in the general election to Lieberman, who ran as an independent.

Lamont told Maine’s Democrats that Allen “was one of the first to stand up against the war” when he opposed the U.S. military presence in Iraq. “He was right then and he’s right now.”

Despite his failure to unseat Lieberman, who had supported the Iraq invasion, Lamont energized the Democratic Party with his anti-war platform.

“I’m a firm believer that those who got us into this mess should be held accountable,” Lamont said, eliciting a rousing applause.

Allen said the war will be front and center in his campaign against Collins.

“The argument between Senator Collins and I is all about deadline,” he said, referring to setting a date to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq. “And that’s a debate we will have up until the end.”

Saturday’s event was more of a casual gathering than a fundraiser, according to Maine Democratic Party Spokeswoman Carol Andrews.

While several prominent Maine Democrats, such as Gov. John Baldacci, U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud and newly appointed state party chair John Knutson gave speeches, the lobster bake was clearly a coming-out party for Allen.

“This is an election that will turn the nation’s eyes to Maine, and we’re going to bring Susan Collins home and send Tom Allen to Washington,” said Knutson, former chair of the Hancock County Democrats. Meanwhile, he also urged state Democrats to work harder to increase their majority in the Maine Senate.

While Democrats wrested control of the U.S. Senate by a narrow margin in 2006 elections, the congressman said having five or six more Democrats in the senate would provide what he called “a working majority.”

“If we get this right, we’re going to turn this country around,” said Allen, who is currently serving his sixth term as Maine’s 1st district U.S. Representative.

As for the recent controversy over the campaign practice known as tracking, Allen said he doesn’t see it as an issue.

“This is a very unusual race in the sense that Senator Collins and I have served in Congress for the same amount of time. That really gives us the opportunity to have a debate that will be substantive,” Allen said after the event.

If people want to focus on their differences, the congressman said, he hopes they will stick to campaign issues rather than campaign practices.