Good morning from Augusta, where the Legislature has left for a couple of weeks in a 2018 session that has seemed like it will never end. But we’re also getting some key information about how legislative campaigns will go in November after a key deadline for candidates.
Monday was the deadline for legislative primary winners to drop out of their races while still being able to be replaced by local party committees by July 23. In all, 31 legislative party candidates bowed out of their races — 23 Republicans and eight Democrats.
Senate Republicans have some recruiting to do after losing nine candidates, but the path to keeping a majority may not run through them. That’s not quite as bad as it sounds in the 35-member chamber, because all of these seats are held by Democrats. At least seven of them aren’t particularly competitive districts for Republicans, including two Portland seats and one centered in Saco.
To read the rest of “Dropout candidates reshape Maine legislative campaign calculus,” an article by contributing Bangor Daily News staff writer Michael Shepherd, please follow this link to the BDN online.
