AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine is traditionally home to some of the most competitive legislative races in the country, and the decisions made by voters during Tuesday’s primaries could be a factor in the margins come November.
There was more at stake for Republicans in the contested primaries because they had races in potentially competitive districts. In one, their voters gave a former state senator a chance to recapture a seat he easily carried in the past. But in another two, they chose hardline conservatives who could crack the door for Democrats over more establishment candidates.
Here are the races decided Tuesday that could matter in the general election.
Rep. Scott Cyrway, R-Albion, vs. Sen. David LaFountain, D-Winslow
Cyrway held this Waterville-area district before hitting term limits in 2022. So he moved to the House. LaFountain, a former Waterville and Winslow fire chief, narrowly defeated former state Rep. Michael Perkins, R-Oakland. Then, Cyrway beat Perkins in Tuesday’s primary.
The former deputy sheriff and D.A.R.E. officer known for his opposition to marijuana has a strong electoral resume. He won the seat by 10 percentage points in 2014, then beat top Democratic competition in the next two election cycles before cruising again in 2020.
LaFountain is the Democratic nominee for now. But he hasn’t reported raising any money. That’s a potential sign that he is a “paper candidate” who doesn’t intend to run in November and can be replaced by his party. That would make for an even better opportunity for Cyrway, who began his career as a replacement candidate for Republicans.
Oxford County Republican Chair Joe Martin vs. former Sen. Bruce Bryant, D-Dixfield
One of the more interesting primaries was for the Maine Senate seat in northern Oxford County, where Martin of Rumford narrowly defeated David Duguay of Byron, a longtime county commissioner. That was despite Duguay being endorsed by Assistant Senate Minority Leader Lisa Keim, R-Dixfield, who is exiting the seat due to term limits.
Martin tied himself to former President Donald Trump during his campaign. On Election Day, he exhorted supporters to watch for electoral irregularities. Now he will take on Bryant, who served in the Legislature from 1996 to 2010 and was the union president at the Rumford paper mill.
Rumford and the area around it is perhaps the most dramatic example of historic Democratic territory here that has drifted toward Trump and Republicans. But U.S. Rep. Jared Golden of the 2nd Congressional District has done well there. Bryant could be the kind of throwback candidate that Democrats need to challenge Republicans who were deeply divided during the primary.
Republican Guy Lebida of Bowdoin vs. Democrat Kilton Webb of Durham
This seat saw a unique primary. Lebida defeated Rep. Joseph Galletta, R-Durham. The incumbent was in perilous territory after the Portland Press Herald noted that he missed two-thirds of the Legislature’s days this year.
Lebida campaigned tenaciously, but he still has detractors in the area. In 2016, he was endorsed by then-Gov. Paul LePage in the primary in which he ousted moderate Sen. Linda Baker of Topsham but then went on to lose the seat to Democrat Eloise Vitelli.
Since then, Lebida lost another House election and the 2022 primary to Galletta. Webb, a union electrician and first-time candidate, is unproven as well. The seat leans conservative but was competitive in 2022. Lebida has bad history to shake off if he is going to win.
