Mark Lawrence

First District Congressional Candidate Ethan Strimling has called one of his opponents "inconsistent" on her Iraq war position, accusing her of "sending mixed messages".

In a statement released by the campaign, Mr. Strimling refers to a recent dust up in which Pingree made several public appearances and pronouncements supporting a withdrawal plan. The Strimling campaign has pointed out that Pingree has said she favors an immediate end to the war, yet she also signed on to a plan that withdraws troops and reduces US involvement over a period of time. That plan is known as the Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq.

PolitickerME.com will post audio from the debate in a bit

It was a small event, but nonetheless a fitting venue for Charlie Summers’ first event on the campaign trail.

Summers, a Republican First Congressional District candidate, participated in a candidates forum Monday night at a veterans’ home in his home town, Scarborough.

Summers returned home from Iraq Saturday evening, and spent most of Monday filing the necessary paperwork to get off active duty. For the past nine months his wife, Ruth Summers, has stood in for him on the campaign trail.

Former state Senate President Dennis “Duke” Dutremble of Biddeford today endorsed Mark Lawrence, a Democratic candidate for the First Congressional District.

Dutremble led the Maine Senate in 1993 and 1994.

He said Lawrence is the best candidate to address the many problems with politics in Washington, including gridlock and a lack of accountability, according to a statement from the campaign.

Dutremble said: “From high gas prices to health care, Mark Lawrence best understands the pressures facing working and middle class families in Maine. He is the best equipped candidate to effectively fight for us on these issues.”

Lawrence said: “I am very honored to be endorsed by Duke. Knowing how well he and his family have represented the city of Biddeford, York County and the state of Maine, I hope to emulate that tradition in Congress.”

Reaching out to the young, tech-savvy crowd, Tom Allen’s campaign sent out a message via Facebook today advertising the campaign’s new video podcast.

Allen, who represents Maine’s First Congressional District in Congress, is challenging incumbent Susan Collins for her Senate seat.

“I am excited to tell you that our campaign has released the first video podcast of any '08 Senate campaign in the country. We will update it periodically with a variety of interesting stuff. Right now, you can find my positions on important issues and the voices of Mainers that we have run across on the campaign trail. Please encourage your friends and family to subscribe as well to help me spread the message,” stated a short message to supporters.

PolitickerME.com has been off for a couple days, and came back today to a flooded inbox. Here are some things we’ve missed in the Maine House race:

LCV endorses Pingree
Portland’s best politician
More fundraising analysis
Lawrence addresses Human Rights torch relay

The latest round of fundraising reports came out this week.

Below is a series of lists analyzing the data for candidates in the First Congressional District. The leading Senate candidates also released their totals Tuesday.

First congressional district candidates will come together to debate twice this week.

Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. they will meet at the SPACE art gallery on Congress Street in Portland in a forum hosted by the League of Young Voters, the Professional Fire Fighters of Maine and the Portland Community Television Network. Justin Ellis of the Portland Press Herald will moderate the debate.  read more »

Congressional candidate Mark Lawrence and Senatorial candidate Tom Allen have issued statements regarding the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War.

Allen, a Portland Democrat and current U.S. Representative, is calling for safe, responsible troop withdrawal.  read more »

Monday was the deadline for Democrats and Republicans to file to run to office. No real surprises here, but the following candidates have qualified to run for national office. An analysis of state candidates will be available later in the day.

U.S. Senate

Democrats: Tom Allen of Portland and Tom Ledue of Sanford

Republicans: Susan Collins of Bangor.

The campaigns for Republican Dean Scontras and Democrat Mark Lawrence, both running for Congress in District 1, have filed petition signatures to get their names on the ballot.