Crowded Democratic field in 1st District turns feisty down the stretch

June 5, 2008 Portland Press Herald by Kevin Wack, Staff Writer.

The six-way race is hard to handicap because there hasn't been any independent polling.

A raft of campaign squabbles is surfacing in the final days of the six-way Democratic race to represent southern Maine in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Adam Cote is catching flak from Ethan Strimling and Mark Lawrence over his former enrollment as a Republican, as well as his endorsement by a pro-business political action committee.

Cote, in turn, is firing back at Strimling, Lawrence and Chellie Pingree over their support for impeaching President Bush.

And that's just the start of the bickering, which comes as candidates in a crowded Democratic field seek to distinguish themselves before voters go to the polls Tuesday.

The winner of Tuesday's primary will face the Republican nominee -- either Dean Scontras or Charlie Summers -- in the Nov. 4 general election. The race has no incumbent because Democratic Rep. Tom Allen is leaving the 1st Congressional District seat to run against Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

With five days remaining, none of the Democrats has launched negative attacks in TV commercials. Instead they have largely confined their criticism to debates, speeches and press releases.

That's likely because in a contest with multiple candidates, high-profile attacks against one opponent are more likely to backfire against the person who launches them than they are in a two-person race, according to Oliver Woshinsky, a retired political science professor at the University of Southern Maine.

"People turn away from 'A.' But they may turn to 'C' or 'D,' not you," Woshinsky said. "I think that's part of the dynamic."

The 1st District race is difficult for political analysts to handicap because there has been no independent polling. Also, the large number of candidates means the winner is likely to receive a relatively small number of votes. In 2002, Mike Michaud won a six-way Democratic primary in Maine's 2nd Congressional District with just 12,230 votes.

With Pingree holding an advantage in fundraising, several of the candidates have been targeting her in their communications with supporters. Cote has been highlighting Pingree's support of impeachment in an effort to draw a contrast between their positions.

"I differ with Chellie on this issue," Cote said in a written statement, "because I believe what we need now is not a 'teachable moment' on impeachment leading to months and months of partisan gridlock."

Michael Brennan, another Democratic candidate, is focusing attention on some of Pingree's responses in a foreign-policy questionnaire. On one question, Pingree said that she supports reinstatement of the military draft.

"I strongly oppose a draft," Brennan said in an e-mail to supporters, "and believe our best option is to bring our troops home immediately."

The Pingree campaign clarified her position on the draft by stating that joining the military would be one of a variety of options for serving the country.

Pingree has largely refrained from firing back at her opponents, who include Augusta pediatrician Steve Meister, and has tried to project a positive image of herself in TV ads and mailers.

"It's a very classic strategy, and also a very play-it-safe approach," said Michael Franz, a government professor at Bowdoin College.

Pingree spokesman Willy Ritch said the criticism is to be expected. "People see Chellie as the front-runner, and so they will see the need to criticize her," he said.

Several other recent attacks in the 1st District race have focused on Cote, a Portland lawyer and National Guardsman who is running for office for the first time.

Cote's emergence as a key player in the campaign is the race's most unexpected twist, according to Franz, since four of his opponents entered the race with better name recognition. "I'm particularly surprised by how well Adam Cote has done, and I think he has a real chance," Franz said.

In a debate last week, Lawrence, the York County district attorney, was critical of Cote for accepting contributions from the Business-Industry Political Action Committee, a group whose members include Exxon and Halliburton.

"BIPAC endorsed Adam," Cote campaign manager Tom Janenda responded in an interview. "Adam didn't endorse BIPAC."

The Strimling campaign is also coming after Cote, calling him "a Republican in Democrat's clothing" in a recent press release. The press release cites, among other issues, Cote's registration as a Republican between 2000-2006.

In a speech last Saturday at the Democratic state convention, Strimling launched an attack on both Pingree and Cote, though he did not mention them by name, over their calls for ending the Iraq war responsibly.

"When I hear candidates offer so-called responsible plans to end the war, I know what that means," said Strimling, a state senator from Portland. "That's John McCain-speak."

Cote campaign manager Tom Janenda said the recent flurry of criticism is a sign that Cote is being taken seriously by his opponents.

"It certainly feels like people are paying more attention to us, which means we can't be doing everything wrong," Janenda said.

At the same time, he sought to cast Cote as the race's underdog.

"David versus four Goliaths," Janenda said.

Staff Writer Kevin Wack can be contacted at 791-6365 or at: kwack@pressherald.com

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