Meister says money played large role in loss

PORTLAND -- Stephen Meister, the Winthrop pediatrician and Democratic Congressional candidate, said there is one major reason he was never able to catch his competition: money.

"It comes down in the end to money," Meister said. "The television commercials and the radio commercials take hundreds of thousands of dollars and they make a huge difference."

Meister is expected to finish last in the six-way race in the Democratic primary for Maine's first congressional seat tonight. He will likely finish with less than 2 percent of the vote.

In an interview he said he believed his campaign went smoothly and was proud of his debate performances. He received positive feedback from the community throughout the campaign, he said, "I feel the campaign went really well."

But he was never able to compete because he wasn't able to raise as much money as his competitors, he added. Meister, who admits he is a "lousy fundraiser," raised a paltry $92,527, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The contest's winner, Chellie Pingree, raised over $1.3 million.

"We need to change the way things are done," Meister said, referring to how campaigns are funded and money is raised. "Now the winner wins based on commercials."

Meister highlighted opponent Adam Cote's late charge as another example of the role money played in the contest. Cote, Meister said, wisely saved much of his $550,000 war chest for the final weeks to air television commercials. Those commercials, he added, closed the gap with Pingree.

He made improving access to health care a focal point of his campaign. Meister, who is also a Navy veteran of the Gulf War, also campaigned on ending the war in Iraq.

Meister watched the election results at his mother-in-law's Portland home. He pledged to continue fighting for the issues on which he campaigned. Wednesday he will attend a meeting of doctors working on how to reduce the number of babies killed annually from Shaken Death Syndrome.

"I am going to work on the issues I've been working on," he said, "helping families and communities find a better way to live."

Even in defeat, Meister, a career pediatrician who has never held political office, left the door open to running for political office again, with one caveat.

"Sure I would run again," he said. "I would just need an army and at least a half a million dollars.