ME-2

A Frary Home Companion: John Frary's campaign literature.PALMYRA -- It had been a quiet week in Palmyra, a small town on the edge of Newport. The leaves were starting to change, just as they were throughout Maine, turning the landscape from green to gold.

For Mainers, Autumn means the arrival of leaf peepers, not the national news media. But on Saturday, a state that rarely serves as the backdrop for high-profile political rallies welcomed one of America's newest celebrities: Todd Palin.

Palin gave a rousing speech, met with enthusiasm from about 600 Republicans, some parking a mile away on a narrow dirt road. He was long gone by 4:00 p.m. when the three men showed up.

The Rothenberg Political Report left both of Maine’s House races off its September list of competitive House races this fall, meaning they see it as limited risk for the Democrats, who hold both seats.

In the 1st Congressional District, Chellie Pingree (D-North Haven) faces Charlie Summers (R-Scarborough). The seat is being vacated by Tom Allen (D-Portland) who is running for the Senate.

In the 2nd Congressional District, incumbent Rep. Mike Michaud (D-East Millinocket) faces Farmington professor John Frary (R-Farmington).

This is no change from previous reports. The only time either race made the list of competitive contests was in November 2007, far before the primary, when Rothenberg put the ME-1 race in the “Democrat favored” category.

Louis Jacobsen of Stateline.org took an interesting look at “purple states” – those considered to be in play for the presidential election.

Jacobsen also writes the “Out There” column for Roll Call.

There are 11 states considered safe for Democrats and 14 states considered safe for Republicans.

Overall, Maine is on Jacobsen’s list as leaning Democratic, however Jacobsen classifies Maine’s second district. Since his last assessment on June 27, however, ME-2 has moved from leaning Democratic to the toss-up category.

Farmington Selectman John FraryJohn Frary, a Farmington selectman running for the Second Congressional District, is calling for an oil refinery to be built at the former Loring Air Force Base in Limestone.

Frary, a Republican, is challenging U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud.

He said such a project would bring economic development to the area, claiming support from Republican state Sens. Peter Mills, Doug Smith and Roger Sherman, however he sees hurdles afoot.

Click here for his full plan (PDF).

“What businessmen don’t want is for this to turn into a 5-year regulatory opera. That said, won’t the enviro-kooks gas up their SUVs and drive to Augusta to block the project with every shyster shenanigan they can dream up? Sure they will—and I relish the prospect of showing them the errors of their ways. If Canada can do it, why not us?” Frary said in a release.

U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud is returning to Maine Thursday after visiting military health care facilities in Iraq, Kuwait and Germany. The facilities are all in the chain of care for Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom service members.

Michaud, who is the chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health, led a delegation of five other Congressman and Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake, according to a release from his office.

The hospitals he visited were:

The following are the basics from the most recent round of campaign finance reports for Congressional candidates. The basics for U.S. Senate candidates Susan Collins and Tom Allen can be found here.

Since the primary election fell in the middle of the second quarter, the first number listed reflects the first part of the quarter, April 1 to May 21. The second number is the second part of the quarter, May 22 to June 30. The third number is either the total between the two halves, or the cycle-to-date total.