Waterville City Councilor Henry Beck, president of the Maine College Democrats, said the war in Iraq will be a major topic of discussion Saturday when college Democrats from all over the state head to Bowdoin College.

Their annual convention will feature a 4 p.m. debate with candidates running for the 1st Congressional District, and a 5:30 p.m. keynote address by U.S. Rep. Tom Allen, who’s challenging Sen. Susan Collins for her seat.

Some are predicting a close race is House District 99.

Rep. Richard Cebra, R-Naples, isn’t one of them.

Cebra has been hitting the campaign trail with fellow Republican Ralph Sarty Jr. of Denmark, and thinks the hard work will pay off on Tuesday.

Sarty faces Democrat Kate Smith of Sebago in the district that includes Baldwin, Sebago, Limington, Cornish and Denmark.

One of three recognized political parties in Maine has announced its opposition to the state law that requires school district consolidation.

Members of the Maine Green Independent Party will be in Augusta on Tuesday as part of a news conference organized by the Maine Coalition to Save Schools. The group is gathering signatures to try to repeal the law.

Steve Meister of Winthrop shocked more than a few people Friday night by announcing he’s the sixth person hoping to win the Democratic nomination for the 1st Congressional District seat.

Meister, a pediatrician and veteran of the first Gulf War, said his patients often talk to him about problems with health care and the military. He said he feels uniquely qualified to talk about both those subjects.

Senate Majority Leader Libby Mitchell, D-Vassalboro, told fellow Democrats this week it’s time they did a better job communicating with voters.

“It’s awfully important we start getting out the message of why we believe what we do,” she told a gathering of Augusta Democrats.

A poll that asks likely voters who they would choose in the 2008 Senate
race between Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and Democrat U.S. Rep. Tom Allen gives Collins a 56 percent to 33 percent advantage, according to the liberal Web site Daily Kos.

The Kos hired what they described as an independent polling firm to take
the temperature of the race. The pollsters called 600 likely voters at random, there’s a 4 percent margin of error — and 11 percent were
undecided.

The Augusta Democratic City Committee chose three new leaders Tuesday evening — all under the age of 33.

At an informal meeting at Augusta City Center, about a dozen Democrats gathered to vote on a new slate of officers. Rep. Kim Silsby stepped down from her position as acting chairwoman, a post she had taken temporarily after former Rep. Arthur Lerman moved to Florida.

The new guys at the helm are:

Ruth Summers, wife of Republican 1st Congressional District candidate Charlie Summers, is doing a lot of heavy lifting this fall to try to help her husband win the June primary and face a Democrat in the November 2008 election.

Her husband is on active duty in Iraq, and will most likely be there until July or August. Summers, of Scarborough, is a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve communications division.

So far, only one other Republican has stepped up to challenge him for the nomination — Dean Scontras of Eliot.

U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud, a Democrat from Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, endorsed John Edwards for president on Friday.

“John Edwards has the courage to tackle problems that other politicians simply ignore – like ending poverty in America and making trade work for working Americans,” Michaud said in a statement from the Edwards campaign. “He is the only candidate who has offered real plans to help struggling rural communities and to provide health care coverage for the 45 million uninsured Americans.”

The Christian Civic League of Maine held a straw poll at its recent banquet, choosing former Tennessee senator and actor Fred Thompson as its favorite presidential candidate.

The straw poll included all candidates — Democrats and Republicans — and 97 percent of those who voted (about 100 people) chose a Republican, said league Executive Director Mike Heath.

The advice may be 76 years old, but it rings true today.

“Political campaigns in these days are pretty strenuous and, unless an individual is blessed with equanimity, may be regarded as aggravating to say the least,” said former Republican Gov. William Tudor Gardiner in his second inaugural delivered in 1931.

“Tudor,” as he was called, apparently wanted to raise the level of discourse in politics, and went on at length about it to begin his speech. Here’s a few graphs to give you the flavor:

We ran a front-page story today, courtesy of the Press Herald, that details who’s raised what so far for the 2008 House and Senate races.

Beyond who’s got the most dough, it’s interesting to check out the reports to see who’s giving what to whom. On this round, spouses and other family members appear to be opening their pockets to help their candidates get off the ground.

Who will the Republicans run against U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud in the 2nd Congressional District in 2008?

There’s been a lot of talk about the 1st Congressional District race, with both sides fielding multiple candidates for the open seat.

We know there will be a major showdown when U.S. Rep. Tom Allen, a Democrat, takes on Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, for the Senate seat.

But there’s been virtually no discussion about the 2nd District race, in which Democrat Michaud is seeking his third term.

Senate President Beth Edmonds of Freeport is backing fellow Democrat Michael Brennan of Portland for the 1st Congressional District seat.

She chose Brennan over four other Democrats who want their party’s nomination, including current Senate colleague Ethan Strimling.

Will the union that represents 10,000-plus state workers be active in the presidential primary season?

We'll have to wait and see.

The Maine State Employees Association is affiliated with the Service Employees International Union, which announced this week that it won’t be endorsing any of the Democratic candidates in the race for the White House. The SEIU has 1.9 million members representing workers in health care, property services and public employee sectors.

Rather than hand out a coveted national endorsement, the national union is leaving it up to individual state unions to decide who they want to endorse.

Democrats are raising money for the four women seeking House seats this fall in hopes of getting their candidates elected and to increase the number of women in the House.

Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, D-North Haven, said she and Rep. Emily Cain, D-Orono, have maintained a women’s political action committee for a few years. This fall, they are raising extra money for the women running to fill four of the five vacant House seats, Pingree said.

The Maine Democratic Party added a spokeswoman from out of state to their roster, and she’s headed for U.S. Rep. Tom Allen’s Senate campaign in a few months.

Carol Andrews made a splash in Maine politics recently by defending the party’s use of a tracker who videotaped Republican Sen. Susan Collins at a parade. It’s not Andrews’ first controversy over a camera.

Presidential candidates are looking for a leg up in every state, asking for endorsements from governors and other prominent elected officials.

For his part, Gov. John Baldacci, a Democrat, said he hasn’t decided who he’ll back.

A few hours after blasting U.S. Rep. Tom Allen for missing votes, the Maine Republican Party issued a second statement after finding out that Allen was absent from Congress on Monday to attend a funeral.

"It has come to our attention that Congressman Tom Allen was in Bangor on Monday attending the funeral of a family member," said Chairman Mark Ellis.

"Without question, the most difficult times in our lives are those in which we grieve the loss of family or friends. Our thoughts are with Congressman Allen and his family during this difficult time."

The Allen campaign said he was attending the funeral of his cousin's wife, and that the three votes he missed had to do with naming post offices in other states and honoring a National Guard unit from another state.

While acknowledging that Allen has missed about 130 votes over 11 years, his campaign manager said he has a 98 percent voting record.

The Maine Republican Party on Tuesday slammed U.S. Rep. Tom Allen,
a Democrat, for missing votes, accusing him of spending too many days on the campaign trail.

“Congressman Allen really seems to have lost interest in showing up to
work,” party Chairman Mark Ellis said in a statement. “At
the very least, he should tell his constituents why he is choosing to leave
them unrepresented in Congress less than a year after he was re-elected.”

It’s unusual to have five House seats open in an off year.

But is it significant?

Regardless of the outcome, the balance of power will remain with the Democrats, at least until November 2008. Yet both parties say they are going full bore for these five seats as a way to set the table for the major presidential election.