Ethan Strimling

OK - help me out here. Who is the biggest loser in the primary campaign?

It's a tough call.

I think you have to consider Mark Impeach Lawrence who finished 5th, and a distant 5th with less than 5% of the vote in the First Congressional District. Here you have a great candidate, District Attorney and former Senate President who ran a campaign that focused on the impeachment of George Bush. If you start being referred to as a far left candidate -- when you have Ethan Strimling and Mike Brennan in the race, you know something has gone seriously awry.

Congressional candidate Chellie PingreeUPDATED, 11:22 p.m. | The Bangor Daily News reports that U.S. Rep. Tom Allen is leading Tom Ledue in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate. With 75 percent of the vote counted, Allen has 85 percent of the vote in to Ledue’s 14 percent.

In the Democratic primary for the U.S. House race for the 1st Congressional District, Chellie Pingree leads with 44 percent. Adam Cote, Ethan Strimling, and Michael Brennan trail with 26 percent, 12 percent, and 11 percent, respectively,

In the Republican primary for the 1st district seat, Charlie Summers leads Dean Scontras by a 59 percent to 40 percent margin.

For more, see the Bangor Daily News.

The Maine Policy Board of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) has endorsed Democrat Ethan Strimling for the 1st Congressional District seat in Congress.

The union, with 3,000 members in Maine, believes Strimling is the best candidate to stand for Maine's working families in Washington. Strimling "understands the concerns and the needs of Maine workers and their families," Will Towers, chairman of AFSCME, said in a statement.

Towers added, "He has made them front and center of his campaign and he'll do the same thing in Congress."

Strimling said he is proud to have the support of AFSCME. "I look forward to working with them when I'm in Congress to get this state and this nation's economy back on track for all Maine workers," he said in a statement.

Talk about horrible timing … PolitickerME has been out with a nasty flu for the past few days.

Here’s a quick rundown on what’s been going on in the days leading up the primary.

Monday, June 2:

It's a good thing Adam Cote spent some time in the military, because the enemy fire is really picking up.

Throughout most of the campaign, Adam has been dodging sniper fire quite well. He has endured the sporadic burst of fire from Strimling on Cote's republican donors as well as the occasional grenade tossed in by Lawrence or Pingree on his on-again, off-again relationship with the Republican Party.

Plenty of danger, but Cote managed to escape uninjured.....so far.

In fact, a Cote victory and wins for Collins and Michaud in November would put the entire Maine delegation in the political middle.

Photos from the evening speeches and rallies at the Maine Democratic Convention:

Mouse over for details. 

Video: Ethan Strimling, a Democrat running for the First Congressional District, gave the following speech at the Maine Democratic Convention this weekend.

The convention floor is clear and delegates have disbursed to the various parties – all of which started three hours late.

Before the final speaker came out, convention chair Beth Edmonds announced the final delegate tally – 15 delegates from Maine will represent Barack Obama in Denver, and nine will represent Hillary Clinton. The results of all the other votes – for national delegate slots and DNC members – will be announced tomorrow.

The Democratic Convention appeared to be running smoothly up until lunchtime, when chaos erupted. At that point counties broke off into caucuses where voting was to take place on national delegates, presidential electors, state committee slots and DNC positions.

Disclaimer: PolitickerME.com does not condone choosing a Congressional candidate based on their party planning abilities. The following information should be used for entertainment purposes only.

The Augusta Civic Center was littered with flyers for parties taking place in hospitality suites around the venue. “Bring your friends and party like it’s June 11th!!!” read a flyer for Ethan Strimling’s party.

PolitickerME took the liberty of rating the parties. The verdict? U.S. Reps. Tom Allen and Mike Michaud, and House candidate Ethan Strimling know how to throw a good party. But others could use some work.