***SPECIAL MAINE HOUSE OF REPS ELECTION MARCH 1ST - PLEASE HELP!!!***

[RBInMaine]

Democrat Deanna House is running for the Maine House to replace Republican Everett McLeod who passed away. This is House District 11 which is in upper Penobscot/Washington County area and includes the town of Lee. Deanna is an EXCELLENT candidate. She is a teacher and she and her husband Paul, who is a Maine Guide, have done TONS for the community and are much respected. Deanna is very strong on environmental issues, jobs, and veterans issues as her son was lost in Iraq in 2007.
PLEASE HELP WIN THIS ONE. Phonebanks are happening, including homebased phone banking, and there are other ways to help too. We can win this one if we pull together. If interested, contact Sean Smith at [e-mail] and/or Deanna House at [e-mail] and ask to help. They'll get you going. The election is March 1st, so every bit of help counts. THANKS !

[Crystal Clarity]

1. Oh one of those giant rural districts

I don't know how much I can personally help (maybe some phone banking), but I know a few people who would be very valuable strategy-wise for this type of campaign. I'll make a few calls and see.

She sounds like a great candidate, but these districts can be a real challenge for Dems. If we can win this one, it's at least one less to worry about... we just need to get her in and hopefully as an incumbent in 2012 she'll be able to hang on to it.

[RBInMaine]

2. I know it will be a challenge, but she is very well liked and well known in the community. That

may work to her favor. Her husband is actually an R who is out there working hard for her, and he too is well known and well liked. Yes, please make your calls to some people who you think can help, and also please call or email the addresses I have provided and ask to help. Phonebanking even from home would be a great help. THANKS.

[Crystal Clarity]

3. Hey, this looks promising...

I rarely read the BDN, so I would have missed this article had I not been trying to find out more about this House race. For those who have not read it, there appears to be a little family-feud going on among the R's that should be very helpful for our candidate.

In addition to her great qualifications, Deanna House has the added advantage of A) being from a larger town then the 'official' R opponent, and B) a Teabagger R write-in opponent, who may take away just enough votes from the R candidate to give her the win... she might have won anyway, but this certainly should help.
Plus, BOTH of her opponents sound like a couple of fruitcakes. :rofl:


GOP rift puts special election in doubt

By David Farmer
Posted Feb. 17, 2011

While Republicans in Maine made impressive gains in November, there’s increasing evidence that there are fractures in the party.

...snip...

With a little more than a week left until the March 1 election, drama festering since January continues to grow. Three candidates are seeking the seat: Democrat Deanna House of Lee, Republican Beth Turner of Burlington and Republican Phillip Merletti of Lee. Merletti is running as a declared write-in candidate.

Merletti lost in his bid for the Republican nomination, claiming that the hierarchy of the Republican Party is determined to keep him out of the race and that they unconstitutionally manipulated the nominating caucus to make sure someone else won.

...snip...

Note: I cut out all of the stuff about the R caucus brouhaha because of DU copyright rules, but if interested, the link is below

Merletti is a self-described constitutionalist and tea party supporter. As a delegate to the Republican State Party Convention, he was among those who pushed a radical rewrite of the Republican Party platform. Webster says that Merletti has only been a Republican for about a year. “He was a great supporter of the Republican Party until he lost,” Webster said.

For her part, Beth Turner says she has earned the support of McLeod’s family and had been asked by McLeod to run in 2012, when he wouldn’t be on the ballot.

But in 2006, Turner ran for the seat as a Democrat, losing to McLeod 1,785 to 1,234. She says she was only a Democrat for a short time and that she is a fiscal and social conservative. Turner points to years of experience in local government, where she has served on the school board, board of selectmen and as a municipal clerk. She’s a photographer and currently is the deputy treasurer for Burlington.

Democrat Deanna House is a teacher. Her son, Sgt. Joel A. House, was killed in Iraq in 2007. Along with her husband, she helped to create the House in the Woods, a program that offers respite and support to the families of soldiers who are killed in combat and to wounded veterans.

While McLeod handily won the 11th District, Democrat George Bunker held the seat for a number of years before. Given November’s results, the seat would appear to lean Republican. The question is whether Merletti attracts enough support from tea party-brand conservatives to affect the race.

In the Maine House, Republicans hold a narrow majority, with 77 seats to 72 for Democrats, with one unenrolled member from Portland. With the margin so close, every seat matters. For now, the fight is in the 11th.

http://new.bangordailynews.com/2011/02/17/opinion/was-district-11-hopeful-%e2%80%98boxed-out%e2%80%99-or-did-he-just-lose/?ref=relatedBox

[dem3550]

4. +1