Tom Allen went to Washington in 1996 after promising voters that he would work on issues that were basic to their lives: education, child care, clean water. During his two years as a representative for the 1st Congressional District, his major legislation, with the addition of campaign finance reform, centered on education, child care and clean water. The 1st District knows where Tom Allen stands and knows he will stand up for Maine in Congress. He deserves to continue his terrific start in the House.

A freshman from the minority party, Rep. Allen dove into the hottest topic of what was a frustratingly cool session: reforming the campaign-finance system. He and Arkansas Republican Asa Hutchinson devised a bipartisan plan which, while ultimately not adopted in the House, demonstrated to the nation that honest campaigns were not the province of a single party.

Even as he crafted campaign reform and built a coalition to support it, Rep. Allen kept his eye on the interests of Maine. His mercury bill grew from Maine’s new tough standards on the toxin. He joined with other representatives to push legislation important to struggling families. Health insurance coverage. Early childhood education. A program to fight substance abuse. A plan to lower the cost of prescription drugs. These aren’t issues that make the front page, but they are issues that can change lives for the better.

On unpopular issues, Rep. Allen has stood his ground. He voted against the flag-protection amendment because it infringed on a more important constitutional idea called the First Amendment. In keeping with that idea, he supported a nonbinding resolution backing an Alabama judge’s display of the Ten Commandments in his courtroom. He is consistently thoughtful in his votes and, even if constituents do not agree with him every time, they know his positions emerge from his own beliefs and not those of special interests.

Rep. Allen’s main opponent, Ross Connelly, has had the unenviable job of trying to unseat an incumbent whose word has been rock solid. But there is a reason that polls have shown this race to be the tightest in what has otherwise been a series of lopsided contests. After a brief time to get his campaign rolling, Mr. Connelly has conducted a hard-hitting, coherent race that speaks of a promising future in politics. Republicans should encourage him to gain a wider knowledge of Maine and run for office again in the future.

But this race properly belongs to Tom Allen. He has proven himself more than worthy of being returned to Washington to represent the 1st District.