AUGUSTA – Democratic election organizers say they are all but sure to maintain the party’s hold on the Maine House of Representatives in the November general elections. At their most optimistic, they say they could even expand the solid majority they now enjoy.

Fielding more candidates is one obvious Democratic advantage over Republicans. Having more experienced candidates may be another.

Also not lost on either side is the length of the Democrats’ winning streak in House general elections, dating to 1974.

“Thirty years,” says House Minority Leader Joe Bruno, the Raymond Republican, looking back to the last time the GOP captured a general election majority.

“What are the odds of this being the year? I don’t know,” Bruno says.

House Speaker Michael Saxl, a Portland Democrat, says his party’s long-term majority is a continuing asset.

“Numbers make a difference. Not only do we have stronger candidates, we have more of them,” Saxl says.

In November 2000, Democrats came away from the polls with 89 of the 151 seats in the House. Republicans won 61 and one was claimed by an independent.

Resignation, a party switch and death have changed the partisan composition of the chamber slightly. There are now 86 Democrats, 62 Republicans, one independent and two vacancies.

Heading into November, 63 Democratic incumbents are seeking re-election. Fifteen have no Republican opponent.

Current officeholders looking to return on the Republican side number 35. Six incumbent Republicans face no Democratic opposition.

Resulting from a combination of term limits, normal attrition and primary election winnowing, there are 57 open House seats; that is, districts in which no incumbent is running.

“And I think that’s where we’re going to make our gains,” Bruno says.

Saxl contends that 2002 will prove to be the “first year term limits have given us an open seat advantage.”

Fifteen Republicans and 13 Democrats, having served four consecutive two-year terms, are barred from seeking re-election.

In all, counting third-party hopefuls, 300 candidates are seeking election to the House, with well more than half – 178 – utilizing Maine’s optional public financing system.

Democrats and Republicans offer conflicting views on which side can expect more third-party financial aid, but top strategists suggest that what the candidates choose to say and what the voters choose to hear will still be most important.

“We win the House because we have better candidates who work harder, are smarter about approaching their constituents and who listen,” Saxl says. “They don’t identify themselves as members of a party, they present themselves as individuals.”

Bruno boasts equally about the caliber of his party’s candidates and says, “Issues are on our side. … Maybe it is time for a change.”

He says the aim of GOP candidates is to assert their rightful “pro-business” claim and expose echoing Democrats as pretenders, and cites a public focus on property taxes as a welcome boost for Republican candidates.

“Our polling has shown that the economy and taxes are hitting hard this time around,” Bruno says.

The small size of Maine House districts tends to make elections in them distinctly local. A typical district might have 8,250 residents and a voting population on the order of 6,000.

Door-to-door campaigning is common and, most party organizers insist, essential. House races are variously described as personal or popularity contests. In any event, they place a premium on face-to-face meetings.

In District 46, which includes Bridgton, Harrison, Denmark, Lovell and Sweden, and in District 82, which covers Farmingdale, Litchfield and West Gardiner, four-way contests are slated this fall, similar to Maine’s gubernatorial race.

Multicandidate matchups are plentiful elsewhere as well, as another bumper crop of campaign signs indicates around the state.

Democrats can hardly imagine losing their majority.

“I think it’s almost an absolute impossibility,” Saxl says. “Giving the most credit that I can to our Republican colleagues, … I think there’s a chance we have of winning some difficult races, even against incumbents.”

Indeed, Democrats hold out hope of defeating Bruno, just as Republicans are working hard to unseat House Majority Leader Patrick Colwell, D-Gardiner.

Bruno says the Republicans face an “uphill” push for House control but that he is “very optimistic.”

“I’m optimistic,” he adds, “but I’m not stupid. You can’t run campaigns without being optimistic.”