MAINE
      Nov. 2, 2010 Governor                                     

Gov.
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 Sen.2
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+Paul LePage (R)
218,065
 		38.07%
Eliot Cutler (I)
 208,270
 		36.36%
Libby Mitchell (D)
 109,387
 		19.10%
Shawn Moody (I)
 28,756
 		5.02%
Kevin L. Scott (I)
 5,664
 		0.99%
Others
 2,624
 0.46%

572,766
Total ballots counted: 580,538 (7,772 blank).
Plurality: 9,795 votes (1.71 percentage points).
 ME Secretary of State


REPUBLICAN PICK UP
Notes:  Gov. John Baldacci (D) was term-limited.  In a close race,  Waterville Mayor Paul LePage (R) defeated businessman and environmental attorney Eliot Cutler (I), Maine Senate President and former Maine House Speaker Elizabeth "Libby" Mitchell (D), Shawn Moody (I), who runs Moody's Collision Centers, and businessman Kevin Scott (I).

Seven candidates competed in the June 8 Republican primary.  LePage, a Tea Party favorite and outspoken and abrasive figure, won by a surprisingly large margin.  Of 131,407 votes tallied, LePage garnered  49,126 votes (37.38%) followed by business executive Leslie Otten at 22,945 (17.46%), state Sen. Peter Mills at 19,271 (14.67%), Steven Abbott, the longtime chief of staff to U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, at 17,209 (13.10%), William Beardsley, president/CEO of Husson University, at 12,061 (9.18%), Bruce Poliquin at 6,471 (4.92%), and Matthew Jacobson at 4,324 (3.29%).

In the June 8 Democratic primary, of 122,936 votes tallied, Mitchell won with 42,328 votes (34.43%), defeating former Attorney General Steven Rowe at 27,932 (22.72%), businesswoman Rosa Scarcelli at 26,444 (21.51%), former Maine Commissioner of Conservation Patrick McGowan at 24,392 (19.84%), and John Richardson at 1,604.

There were many debates and forums; for example, all five candidates participated in the WMTW-TV ABC 8 debate at the University of Southern Maine on Oct. 18, 2010 (1, 2).  The race tightened in the closing weeks as Cutler received key newspaper endorsements including the Bangor Daily News (Oct. 17) and the Portland Press Herald/Maine Today Media (Oct. 24).

The outcome remained unclear until Wednesday, Nov. 3 when Cutler conceded (>).  LePage carried 12 counties to four for Cutler; Mitchell's best showing was in York Co. (23.3%).
 
Campaign Managers:
Paul LePage:  John Morris, chief of staff
Former Waterville police chief, retired in 2007.

Eliot Cutler:  Ted O'Meara
Managing director of Pierce Atwood Consulting, 2001-09.  Director of marketing and communications for Blethen Maine Newspapers, 1999-2001.  Director of corporate communications at Guy Gannett Communications, 1997-99.  B.A. in political science from University of Maine, 1974.

Libby Mitchell:  Jesse Connolly
(June 2010)  Chief of staff in the Maine House of Representatives, Dec. 2006-June 2010.  Campaign manager on Baldacci for Governor, Jan.-Dec. 2006.  Campaign manager on Maine Won't Discriminate, May-Dec. 2005.  Maine State Director on Kerry-Edwards, Aug. 2003-Nov. 2004.  Communications director in the Maine Senate President's Office, Dec. 2002-Aug. 2003.  Caucus director for the Maine Senate Democratic Campaign Committee, May 2001-Nov. 2002.  B.A. in political science and government from Bates College, 2001.


See also: 
Rebekah Metzler.  "Gov.-elect LePage to 'put people first'."  Portland Press Herald, Nov. 4, 2010.

Ray Routhier.  "Despite loss, Shawn Moody sees his run as a winning experience."  Portland Press Herald, Nov. 3, 2010.

Jennifer O'Keefe.  "The Cutler 'effect': Could Maine Independent win the race for governor?"  Foster's Daily Democrat, Oct. 26, 2010.

Editorial Board.  "Our endorsement for governor: Eliot Cutler the best choice to lead Maine forward."  Portland Press Herald, Oct. 24, 2010.

Maine Public interviews with Eliot Cutler, Paul LePage, and Libby Mitchell (Oct. 2010).

Jessica Taylor.  "LePage: I'd tell Obama to 'go to hell'."  Politico, Sept. 29, 2010.

Renee Ordway.  "LePage may talk himself out of race."  Bangor Daily News, July 30, 2010.

Kevin Miller.  "Libby Mitchell: Veteran lawmaker says she's ready for Blaine House, Bangor Daily News, May 4, 2010.  [One of a series of profiles of the primary candidates run May 4-18, 2010].

Marian McCue and John Christie.  "Risky business: Les Otten and the rise and fall of American Skiing Co."  Maine Monitor, Mar. 10, 2010.

Theda Skocpol and Vanessa Williamson.  Mar. 2012.  The Tea Party and the Remaking of Repubican Conservatism.  Oxford University Press.

 
  
 
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