AUGUSTA – In the end, Democratic and Republican voters went with familiar faces and issues rather than unseasoned challengers and ideology in primary contests for southern Maine’s 1st District congressional seat.

In each case, the voters nominated a candidate with state legislative experience and at least one try at a federal office. Chellie Pingree comfortably outdistanced her five rivals with 44 percent of the vote, while Charlie Summers ended up with a 3-2 win over his GOP competitor.

It sets the scene for a fall campaign in a district where voters have sent a Republican to Congress only once since John McKernan was elected in 1984. For her part, Pingree hopes to become the first Democratic woman elected to Congress in Maine.

“It will be a competitive race to some degree, but it is a Democratic district. I think you’ve got to say at this point that Chellie Pingree has got to be the favorite,” Mark Brewer, assistant professor of political science at the University of Maine, said Wednesday.

Brewer believes Summers “can run a competitive race, but part of it is how much money he can raise.”

Through their choices Tuesday, voters also did themselves a service by setting up an issue-driven race in the fall between Pingree and Summers, said Anthony Corrado, professor of government at Colby College.

“Voters in Maine are facing real problems and they’re looking for well-known candidates who are experienced … who will make a difference in Washington,” said Corrado.

The two candidates already have staked out the issues they will debate in the weeks and months ahead: energy, health care, the war in Iraq and the economy among them.

In the Senate race, the Democratic primary delivered little drama. Tom Allen, who is vacating the 1st District seat he has occupied for six terms to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins, came out of Tuesday’s balloting with an unofficial 85 percent of the vote over political first-timer Tom Ledue.

The House races captured the most interest. On the Democratic side, the sheer numbers – six candidates in all – were a particular draw.

Some of the Democrats, state Sen. Ethan Strimling in particular, proved to be not as strong as when they entered the race, said Corrado. Iraq war veteran Adam Cote surged at the end, but Democrats may have opted to stick with a known quantity – Pingree – rather than a newcomer, said Brewer.

Cote finished second with 29 percent of the vote, ahead of former Senate leader Michael Brennan, Strimling, York County District Attorney Mark Lawrence and physician Stephen Meister.

Besides being well-known and well-financed, Pingree enjoyed the advantages of being the only woman in the race, which helped her to carve out a special niche of support, said Corrado.

Pingree, a former state Senate leader, was the Democratic candidate in the 2002 Senate race in which Collins was re-elected. She went on to become president of the Washington-based Common Cause.

“She’s one of these kind of people when she gets to Washington, you’re going to feel things change. The walls are going to be rattled and the halls are going to be shaking because she’s that kind of woman,” Strimling said at a Democratic unity event Wednesday in Portland.

On the Republican side, Summers has achieved name recognition in his past two congressional tries, as a state senator and as regional head of the Small Business Administration.

In addition, Summers gained attention as one of the two candidates to have served in the military in Iraq. Besides highlighting his commitment to public service, his military service provided him with an asset in the general election: The newly discovered campaign skills of his wife, Ruth, Corrado said.

Summers, whose campaign was fronted by his spouse until he returned about a month ago from active duty, said he owes his primary win to his wife.

Losing GOP candidate Dean Scontras, in his congratulatory statement after the election, said, “I want to thank both Ruth and Charlie for the grace and integrity with which they fought this. They have been formidable opponents.”

Turnout was not the 30 percent to 35 percent of voter age population that had been predicted by Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, who saw a heightened wave of interest due to the presidential campaign.

But it was roughly 27 percent among Democrats and 20 percent among Republicans in the 1st District, compared to about 16 percent statewide, according to incomplete and unofficial tallies.

There were no contests in the primaries in Maine’s 2nd congressional district, where Democratic Rep. Michael Michaud is seeking his fourth House term. His challenger is Republican John Frary, a retired history professor from Farmington.