Somerville Democrat Chris Johnson has won the special election for the vacant State Senate District 20 seat, defeating Waldoboro Republican Dana Dow 3368 votes to 2902.
At 10:45 p.m. Dow confirmed that he has called Johnson to congratulate him and concede the election.
Dow, the House District 50 incumbent was making a bid to return to the seat he held for two terms before retiring from the senate in 2008. Johnson was making his second bid for the office, having previously mounted a campaign for the seat in 2010.
Johnson said his victory is a credit to the many people who volunteered their time on his campaign; from making signs and coordinating press events to driving him around the district introducing him to voters as he mounted an aggressive door-to-door campaign.
“I think this speaks volumes to the level of commitment of people in the district in believing we need change,” Johnson said. “We need to get Augusta working again on the problems most important to them like jobs and getting money in their pockets again to spend on the local economy.”
Dow said he plans to talk his political future over with his wife before he makes any future plans. He did rule out running for the Senate seat again this fall.
“I would simply say this vote represents a referendum on the governor and maybe the budget we are trying to get passed. That might have something to do with it,” Dow said. “I don’t feel its referendum on Dana Dow. It’s bigger than that. When people are looking for change anything can happen.”
State Senate District 20 includes all of Lincoln County, except for Dresden, plus the towns of Windsor, Washington and Friendship.
