Brennen waits it out before conceding and finishing third

SOUTH PORTLAND -- Despite trailing badly all night as the election returns came in, former state Senate Majority Michael Brennan waited most of the night before finally conceding it would not be his night.

His campaign spokesman Peter Asen said they "wanted to wait for a clear winner to emerge. He finished third behind Adam Cote and Chellie Pingree.

"There were areas where they differed," Asen said. "In general she really is going to talk about the issues we wanted to talk about and we are happy about that." Brennan will support Pingree in the general election in November, Asen said.

Earlier in the night, Brennan addressed a crowd of about 75 supporters at the Empire Dine & Dance music hall in Portland. Brennan said he was running in the race not just for the primary but to reclaim the values of the Democratic Party and make the country better.

Brennan does not have immediate plans to run for another office, Asen said. He worked part-time as a policy associate at the Muskie School for Public Policy at the University of Southern Maine during the campaign and will continue to work there.

Asked if the campaign would have done anything different, Asen said they wouldn't have changed the way the campaign was run.

"We did the best we could given what we had," he said.