10/12/2008
BY SUSAN M. COVER
Staff Writer
Shawn Holt is an electrician who is worried about the economy.
The Clinton resident, one of dozens of central Mainers who waited in line to buy gas for $2.99 at Bob's Country Market in Benton last week, said he's leaning toward supporting Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., for president because of the tough economic times.
"He's the best of the two evils, I guess," he said.
He thinks increased efforts by the McCain campaign to target the 2nd Congressional District will pay off for the Arizona senator, who trails Democratic opponent U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., by 5 percentage points in recent Maine polls.
"I'm an electrician and we used to have a lot of houses going up this time of year," he said. "Nobody's building anymore."
Voters from Clinton, Wayne, Norridgewock, Leeds and other nearby towns in the 2nd District said last week they were torn about whether McCain can -- or should -- get an electoral vote from Maine.
His campaign announced recently it would target the vast northern Maine district in an effort to win one of the state's four electoral votes.
The campaign began concerted efforts in Maine this weekend by sending Todd Palin, husband of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain's vice presidential candidate, to events in Palmyra and Presque Isle.
A visit by Palin herself before the Nov. 4 election is also a possibility, the campaign has said.
For Molly Saunders, of Wayne, a strong Obama supporter, the collapse of the nation's financial markets in recent weeks should give Obama an edge everywhere in Maine.
"I think the world has changed in the last two weeks," she said as she worked in her pottery shop. "The whole idea of unregulated capitalism has been discredited."
The reason the McCain campaign is targeting Maine is that it is one of only two states that allows its electoral votes to go to more than one candidate; Nebraska is the other.
In Maine, the statewide winner gets two electoral votes, the winner of the 1st Congressional District gets one and the winner of the 2nd Congressional District gets one.
While this system has been in place since 1972, Maine has never actually split its electoral votes.
But the McCain campaign has said it feels the sportsmen and snowmobilers of the 2nd Congressional District, the largest congressional district east of the Mississippi River, will favor the Republican ticket.
That certainly holds true for Robert L. Jordan Sr., of Norridgewock, who said he's supporting McCain because McCain supports gun owners and is against abortion.
"He would do well if he'd only open up and talk," Jordan said as he filled his gas tank. "He could win Pennsylvania hands down if he would talk about guns."
Based on election results from four years ago, if McCain can pick up votes anywhere in Maine, it would likely be the 2nd District.
Back then, Democratic U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., beat President Bush in the 2nd District by only 20,000 votes out of nearly 350,000 cast -- a much closer margin than in the 1st District, where Kerry won by more than 45,000 votes.
Along with Kerry, voters in the 2nd District supported U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud in 2004, sending him back to Washington for a second term.
Leeds residents Roland and Belinda Lamontagne, owners of the Corner Store in Wayne, said they are still undecided about who they'll support. They said whichever candidate will provide help to small businesses will get their votes.
In addition to owning the store, Roland Lamontagne works full-time at Bath Iron Works.
"I was always a Democrat, but now I vote for the best person," he said.
Voters across the country are also trying to figure out which ticket is best, with a Friday tracking poll from Rasmussen Reports pegging the race at 50 percent for Obama and 45 percent for McCain.
Some national political professionals, and more than a few bloggers, have speculated that the race could come down to a 269-269 Electoral College tie.
It takes 270 to be president, which makes that 2nd District vote all the more important.
"It's a long shot, but there's a number of scenarios where it could definitely happen," said James Melcher, a political science professor at the University of Maine at Farmington.
As recently as Thursday, some speculated the race might be Obama's to lose.
Larry J. Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, published an article on the center's Web site that said McCain needs a major event to turn the tide of support away from Obama.
And, he doesn't think McCain will win Maine's 2nd District, or that Obama will get an electoral vote in Nebraska, the only other state that splits its votes.
"McCain probably has all of Nebraska and Obama has all of Maine," he wrote.
Maine Democrats agree, saying the efforts by the McCain campaign will be too little, too late.
"We've been pretty active for months and months and months," said Colleen Madigan, who leads the Waterville Democratic Committee.
That work includes making calls seven days a week, going door to door and putting up homemade yard signs.
From high school students to retirees, volunteers are putting in long hours, she said.
The Obama campaign has 12 offices around the state open seven days a week.
The party is doing more than ever to coordinate efforts for all candidates, party officials say.
Madigan said she doesn't buy the logic that voters in the 2nd District will be more likely to vote Republican this time around.
"They may like to hunt, and they may like to fish, but they'd like a job," she said.
And while Democrats may not think it's possible, it will be up to voters such as Diana Colson, of Anson, to make the final decision just a few weeks from now.
She said there's a lot to like about the McCain and Palin ticket.
"He has a good, solid moral background," she said.
And his running mate?
"I like Palin a lot," she said. "I like her boldness. She's not afraid to say what she feels and thinks."
Susan Cover -- 620-7015
scover@centralmaine.com
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