Voters wait in line outside Edgecomb town hall Tuesday, Nov. 3. Despite the chilly morning, more than 25 people were in line before the doors opened at 8 a.m. (Bisi Cameron Yee photo)
Democrats won five of the nine legislative districts that include some part of Lincoln County, including the top prize — the Senate District 13 seat covering most of the county.
Rep. Chloe Maxmin, D-Nobleboro, unseated Senate Minority Leader Dana Dow, R-Waldoboro, to return the District 13 seat to Democratic control, according to unofficial results.
Maxmin, a community organizer and freshman legislator, received 12,603 votes to 12,045 for Dow, a businessman with five total terms in the Legislature, including the last two as District 13’s senator.
As Senate minority leader, Dow is the top-ranking Republican in state government.
Senate District 13 encompasses all of Lincoln County except Dresden, plus Washington in Knox County and Windsor in Kennebec County. The seat has volleyed between Democratic and Republican control through a series of close races.
Maxmin’s House District 88 seat, meanwhile, will return to Republican control. Chelsea businessman Michael Lemelin defeated Whitefield farmer Christopher Hamilton, 2,842-2,446.
Republican Rep. Deb. Sanderson, of Chelsea, had held the seat until term limits forced her out and set up a Lemelin-Maxmin contest in 2018. The district is Chelsea, Jefferson, part of Nobleboro, and Whitefield.
In the other Senate race that affects Lincoln County, Assistant Majority Leader Eloise Vitelli, D-Arrowsic, won a third consecutive term over Republican challenger Holly Kopp, R-Topsham, 14,087 – 10,434. Senate District 23 encompasses Dresden in Lincoln County and all of Sagadahoc County.
Of the seven House races in Lincoln County, three featured rematches of past races.
In District 53, Rep. Allison Hepler, D-Woolwich, defeated Jeffrey Pierce, R-Dresden, 3,128-2,966. In District 89, Rep. Holly Stover, D-Boothbay, defeated Stephanie Hawke, R-Boothbay Harbor, 3,248-2,815.
Hepler and Stover are both freshman legislators who had challenged then-incumbents Pierce and Hawke in 2018.
“I’m very grateful to the people of House District 53 for sending me back to Augusta,” Hepler said. “There’s a lot of work to do and I’m ready to work with anyone with a good idea to get us all through this pandemic safely and help get businesses and schools back on their feet.”
House District 53 includes Dresden in Lincoln County, as well as Arrowsic, Georgetown, Phippsburg, part of Richmond, and Woolwich in Sagadahoc County.
House District 89 includes Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, Edgecomb, part of South Bristol, Southport, and Westport Island.
In House District 87, three-term Rep. Jeffery Hanley, R-Pittston, defeated Tim Marks, D-Pittston, 3,117-2,419. The race was a rematch of 2014, when Hanley knocked off the incumbent Marks to win his first term.
House District 87 is Alna and Wiscasset in Lincoln County, plus Pittston and Randolph in Kennebec.
In House District 90, Newcastle social worker Lydia Crafts, a Democrat, defeated Newcastle forestry consultant Merle Parise, a Republican, 3,962-2,171, in a battle of political newcomers.
Crafts captured 64.6% of the vote to retain the seat for Democrats. The incumbent, Rep. Mick Devin, D-Newcastle, could not run for reelection because state law limits legislators to four straight terms in one seat.
District 90 is Bremen, Bristol, Damariscotta, Monhegan, Newcastle, part of Nobleboro, and part of South Bristol.
In House District 91, Rep. Jeffrey Evangelos, I-Friendship, defeated challenger Lowell Wallace, R-Waldoboro, 2,761-2,400. Evangelos, a retired businessman and school administrator, won a second consecutive term and his fourth overall.
“I’d like to thank the voters for the confidence they’ve shown in returning me to Augusta,” Evangelos said. “I also want to acknowledge my opponent, Lowell Wallace. He ran a good race and I’m proud that we both did it the right way, clean and respectful campaigns.
“I will strive to listen to your concerns as we tackle the COVID-19 crisis and the challenges it presents to our public health and economy.”
District 91 encompasses Friendship, part of Union, Waldoboro, and Washington.
In House District 80, two-term Rep. Richard Bradstreet, R-Vassalboro, defeated Greg Hallee, D-Vassalboro, 3,323-1,698. The district includes Somerville in Lincoln County, as well as part of Augusta, Vassalboro, and Windsor in Kennebec County.
All state legislators serve two-year terms.
Lincoln County Judge of Probate William Avantaggio, D-Bremen, fended off a challenge from Meegan Burbank, I-Jefferson, 13,069-8,542, to win a second four-year term. Avantaggio practices law in Newcastle, Burbank in Boothbay Harbor.
“I am humbled by the weight of the support from my neck of the woods,” Avantaggio said. “The numbers from this side of the county were greater than I could have hoped for.”
Burbank thanked her supporters and everyone who voted in the race.
“I’d also like to express my sincere congratulations to William Avantaggio, and I am so pleased that we had a race highlighted by mutual respect and positive campaigning,” she said. “I look forward to continuing my commitment to serving Lincoln County in our courts and in our community.”
Lincoln County Commissioners Hamilton Meserve, R-Southport, and Mary Trescot, D-Damariscotta, won reelection in Districts 1 and 3, respectively. Both won their third straight four-year terms.
In national and congressional races, Lincoln County voters backed Democrat Joe Biden over President Donald Trump, 12,684-10,256, with a smattering of votes going to third-party candidates.
Maine favored Biden statewide and in the 1st Congressional District, while Trump led in the 2nd Congressional District at press time, according to the Bangor Daily News. Maine has four electoral votes — two go to the statewide winner and one each to the winner of each congressional district.
The presidential race was too close to call at press time. Trump declared victory early Wednesday, but both conservative and mainstream outlets were reporting that the final result could take days to decide and would hinge on the swing states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Lincoln County stuck with four-term Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins over her Democratic challenger, Maine Speaker of the House Sara Gideon, 12,075-10,102. Independents Lisa Savage and Max Linn garnered 1,051 and 336 votes, respectively.
Collins appeared on track to win a fifth term, with 50.7% of the vote to 42.8% for Gideon and 89.5% of results reported, according to the BDN. If she does not maintain a majority of votes, the ranked-choice tabulation process will determine the winner.
Lincoln County supported six-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat, over Republican challenger Dr. Jay Allen, 12,902-10,491. Allen, a family physician, lives in New Harbor and practices medicine in Waldoboro.
Pingree had 61.7% of the vote with 94.4% reported, according to the BDN.
