If you live in coastal eastern Maine and ran as a Democrat for Maine State Senate this fall, you lost. Pure and simple. But you would be hard pressed to say you got swept away in a deluge of Tea Party fervor.
True, The GOP took not only the Blaine House, but both the state Senate and House chambers, winning a clean sweep for the first time in a long time. And a big if not the biggest reason behind that seems to be a "time-for-someone-else" approach to which party wields the most power in Augusta.
But when you look at the Senate winners in eastern Maine, you're not going to find any Rand Pauls or Christine O'Donnells. The lot of them are moderate Republicans who may be tight with the purse strings but are not strict when it comes to, say, abstinence or on whether the Department of Education should be abolished.
The new Senate president, Kevin Raye of Perry, for years worked as an aide to U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, who long as been viewed as a moderate in Congress. Brian Langley and Richard Rosen are cut from the same cloth. They'll likely be game for cutting budgets, but not for eliminating departments or diving into divisive social issues.
Further down the road, less moderate Republicans were elected in Lincoln County (David Trahan), and in Waldo County (Mike Thibodeau). Knox County's Chris Rector, an incumbent who ran unopposed this year, is viewed as fairly middle of the road. All three have multiple terms of experience in Augusta, and so are not outsiders. These men - including Raye, Rosen and Langley - hardly represent a horde of angry outsiders storming the State House barricades.
And in the House of Representatives, coastal eastern Maine definitely got a mixed bag. Washington County, being as it is, held out no hope for Democrats - this year or any other. But from Hancock County west it was a different story. Elsie Flemings, a young Democrat from MDI, ran unopposed in what was decidely a Republican year. Louis Luchini of Ellsworth won what under Langley had been a Republican seat, beating longtime Republican D.A. Michael Povich, whose late Democrat brother Eddie represented Ellsworth in Augusta for many years. With new candidates, Democrats also retained districts 36 (Deer Isle/Vinalhaven) and 37 (Blue Hill).
In Republican wins, Richard Malaby, replaying the matchup two years ago, this time defeated Democrat Rob Eaton in eastern Hancock Co., and incumbent Kim Rosen (Richard's wife) held off Marc LeBlanc in Bucksport & Orrington. James Gillway ousted Democrat Veronica Magnan of Stockton Springs, Peter Rioux kept Thibodeau's old seat for the GOP, and Republican Ryan Harmon captured the seat formerly held by John Piotti, who lost to Thibodeau in the Senate race.
But Democrats won two other House seats in Waldo County, three of four mainland House seats in Knox County, and even one of five in reliably Republican Lincoln County (representing Boothbay, of all places). So not a tide of anti-Democrat orthodoxy in the midcoast, either.
Still, the overall make-up of the Legislature is decidedly different, which is a blow to the Democrats. But until the economy improves, no political party is going to be able to convince voters they've accomplished something that's worth keeping them in office for.
State House photo courtesy of: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-photo/mefox13/1/1272572159/1_maine-state-house.jpg/tpod.html
