Maine is not exactly flush with millionaires. On a per capita basis we must rank pretty low among the states. Which means that most of us are middle class, or even further down the income scale (think Washington County). With the present economic turmoil likely to last for at least a few, if not many, years, this election means a lot to our pocketbooks and wallets.

Beyond the question of whom to vote for as president, we have two candidates vying to represent us in the Senate. Both Susan Collins and Tom Allen are seasoned, respected members of Congress. Each has a record as a faithful member of their own party, Allen as a liberal Democrat and Collins as a stalwart supporter of President Bush. So how do we choose?

Setting aside the usual campaign distortions, which this year seem to be particularly ripe, all we really have to go on are the past records. Our only reliable gauge of the future is looking at how the policies and votes of the two parties and the two candidates have affected our household budgets in the past.

As to the parties, the differences are pretty clear. A Princeton economist recently analyzed the past 60 years, which have been nearly equally divided between Republican and Democratic administrations. Surprisingly, although we usually think of the Republicans as the party of business, in reality our country has grown economically almost twice as fast under Democrats. Whatever the speechmakers may say, the fact is that Democratic administrations have been better for business.

They have also been much better for middle-class incomes, and what is dramatically different is what has happened to those in the bottom fifth of the income pile. They have barely stayed afloat under Republicans and grown substantially better off under Democrats.

So much for the parties and their philosophies, what about our two candidates? Truth is, they have pretty much stuck to their parties’ values. Collins voted for the Bush tax plan that shifted much of our tax burden from the rich to the poor. That tax cut was worth an average of a thousand dollars a week to those at the top and not much more than one dollar to those in the bottom fifth. Allen voted against it. Same with the tax break for the oil companies (as though they weren’t making enough already), and the same with the provision in the prescription drug bill that prevented the government from bargaining with the big drug companies to get lower prices for the rest of us on the drugs we need.

So if the past is any guide to the future, unless you are a millionaire, your pocketbook or wallet would much prefer that you vote for Allen.

Ken Paigen of Bar Harbor was director of The Jackson Laboratory from 1989 to 2002.