‘Established’ Mitchell wins for Dems

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Maine Senate President and attorney Elizabeth Mitchell won the Democratic Party nomination for governor late Tuesday night.

With 79 percent of precincts reporting at approximately 1:20 a.m., Mitchell, of Vassalboro, won 35 percent of the vote, with challengers Steve Rowe, Rosa Scarcelli and Patrick McGowan finishing with 23, 21 and 20 percent, respectively.

Mitchell has served in state government since 1974 in both the Maine Senate and House of Representatives. She is the only woman in American history to serve as speaker of a state house of representatives and president of a state senate. If elected this November, she would be Maine’s first female governor.

Representatives from other Democratic campaigns stressed the fact that their candidates would stand behind Mitchell in the general election.

McGowan spokesman Dan Cashman said Mitchell would have the candidate’s “full support” in the election.

“She has served Maine very honorably for over three decades. People appreciate that. People appreciate that record of service,” Cashman said.

Rowe’s campaign manager, Toby McGrath, said Mitchell is “a great Democrat” who will be supported by Rowe.

Scarcelli campaign consultant Dennis Bailey said Mitchell’s name recognition, not her message, was what won her the primary election.

“She is very well-established. She has years of contacts and a large base,” Bailey said.

Bailey said Scarcelli’s finish ahead of McGowan was “astounding,” since she has no electoral history. McGowan has served in state and federal government as Maine’s commissioner of conservation and chair of the New England Small Business Administration.

“Obviously, this shows a lot of Democrats were looking for something different,” Bailey said. “I’ve worked on a lot of campaigns. I’ve never seen someone rise so far so fast.”

He said that Mitchell’s election, coupled with Waterville Mayor Paul LePage’s victory in the Republican primary, could bode well for Independent Eliot Cutler, a former Carter administration energy official and attorney.

“You have a Democratic candidate who is identified as pretty far to the left and a Republican who is identified as extremely far to the right,” Bailey said. “I think that it’s a dream ticket [for Cutler], no question about it.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 9th, 2010, 1:07 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.