LePage, Cutler even in Maine gov vote

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Only the losing Democrat is sure of the outcome in Maine’s three-way race for governor.

With the race too close to call, Mainers had to wait until Wednesday to see if Republican Paul LePage or independent Eliot Cutler would emerge as the winner. Democrat Libby Mitchell is out of the race after conceding.

LePage said he believed the slight lead he carried into the early morning hours would continue to grow as the final precincts in rural areas are counted.

“I’m very confident that in the morning we’ll have the first French governor in the state of Maine,” LePage told supporters in Waterville before calling it a night. He would become the first popularly elected Franco-American Maine governor, although one was elected by the Legislature in 1879.

Cutler said it was far too early to claim victory or defeat, adding that he expected a close race for weeks.

With votes from 89 percent of the state’s precincts counted, LePage had 38 percent of the vote and Cutler 37 percent. Mitchell, the current Senate president, had 19 percent and conceded, saying, “It’s really a tough year for a Democrat, particularly for someone who’s been in office.”

LePage, who was front-runner throughout the campaign, trailed Cutler for much of Tuesday night, but the gap narrowed as votes were counted.

Making a choice was easy for some voters, but not for others.

Justina McGettigan, a prosecutor from Portland, said she followed the polls and not her heart by voting for Cutler, who had been rising in polls.

“I was concerned that a vote for Libby Mitchell was a vote for Paul LePage,” said McGettigan. She said LePage is divisive and “appeals to people’s worst instincts.”

Ron Dubois, a self-employed property manager from Portland, said a fiscal conservative like LePage is just what’s needed in Augusta.

“LePage isn’t polished at all, but I think he’ll stir things up in Augusta,” Dubois said. “I was really impressed with LePage because he shot from the hip. He really knows what the issues are. He’s really telling it like it is.”

Riding a wave of voter disenchantment with elected officials, LePage has led the field in poll numbers since his surprise primary win in June, while Mitchell worked to shore up her Democratic base. Cutler edged up in the polling numbers while seeking to parlay voters’ weariness with partisan politics into his gain.

Two other independents, Shawn Moody and Kevin Scott, filled out the list of contestants to succeed two-term Democratic Gov. John Baldacci.

LePage has stressed pocketbook issues during his campaign, pointing to a state government he claims is bloated and strangles too many businesses in red tape. While the Waterville mayor’s blunt and unvarnished speaking style has drawn attention and criticism, there were no signs it’s rattled a base that includes tea party forces.

Mitchell, the veteran legislator and current Senate president, spent much of the campaign playing defense as her rivals hammered away at a theme that state government under her leadership has become too costly for Maine taxpayers. For her part, Mitchell stressed job creation through a new business-friendly attitude in Augusta, and educational issues from kindergarten to college.

Cutler dodged verbal darts from both parties as he asked voters to reject the contest’s partisanship and support his plans to restructure government, create a state energy finance authority and merge the university and community college systems.

While Moody brought a message of less government intrusion in business to the debate, he never amassed the survey numbers or campaign funds to represent a real threat to win. Scott stayed in the low single digits from the start.