United States House of Representatives elections in Maine, 2010

2010 election results by district

The 2010 House elections in Maine occurred on November 2, 2010, and elected the members of the State of Maine's delegation to the United States House of Representatives. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; the elected served in the 112th Congress from January 3, 2011 until January 3, 2013. Maine has two seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States Census. These elections were held concurrently with the United States Senate elections of 2010, the United States House elections in other states, and the 2010 Maine gubernatorial election.

Overview

United States House of Representatives elections in Maine, 2010[1]
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats	+/–
	Democratic	316,156	56.02%	2	—
	Republican	248,170	43.97%	0	—
	Independents	42	0.01%	0	—
Totals		564,368	100.00%	2	—

District 1

See also: Maine's 1st congressional district

Campaign

Incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Chellie Pingree ran for re-election to a second term from this liberal^[2] district based around metro Portland and the southern coastal region of Maine. Pingree was initially thought to be a shoo-in for re-election against Republican businessman Dean Scontras, but Scontras benefited from some negative publicity over her use of a private jet, despite ironically criticisizing politicians for using them two years earlier.^[3] Polling indicated that the race would be tight, but in the end, Pingree was re-elected by a solid margin of victory. Interestingly, she was one of eight Democrats in the House of Representatives to win election in 2010 by a larger margin than in 2008.^[4]

Polling

Poll Source	Dates Administered	Chellie Pingree (D)	Dean Scontras (R)
Critical Insights	October 27-28, 2010	41%	45%
Critical Insights	October 13-17, 2010	45%	40%
Pan Atlantic SMS Group	October 11-15, 2010	49%	32.6%
Critical Insights	October 10-11, 2010	48%	33%
MECPO	October 4-7, 2010	46%	38%
Critical Insights	September 27, 2010	54%	26%
Critical Insights	September 13, 2010	53%	29%
Public Policy Polling	September 2-6, 2010	47%	38%

Results

Maine's 1st congressional district election, 2010[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Chellie Pingree (inc.)	169,114	56.82%
	Republican	Dean Scontras	128,501	43.17%
	Write-ins		42	0.01%
Totals			297,657	100.00%
	Democratic hold

District 2

See also: Maine's 2nd congressional district

Campaign

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Mike Michaud, who was first elected in 2002, considered running for Governor this year^[5], but ultimately decided to run for a fifth term in Congress. Running for re-election in this liberal-leaning district^[2], which constitutes nearly 80% of the state of Maine, Congressman Michaud faced Republican businessman Jason Levesque. The candidates squared off in a debate on October 19 that saw many personal attacks and sharp disagreement over matters of policy.^[6] In particular, Levesque made an issue over the fact that Michaud received $12,000 in campaign contributions from embattled Congressman Charlie Rangel and had not returned the money.^[7] Polls indicated a slight advantage for Michaud in a contentious race, and on election day, Michaud won re-election by a healthy ten-point margin of victory.

Polling

Poll Source	Dates Administered	Mike Michaud (D)	Jason Levesque (R)
Critical Insights	October 27-28, 2010	44%	40%
Critical Insights	October 13-17, 2010	49%	30%
Pan Atlantic SMS Group	October 11-15, 2010	48.8%	29.3%
Critical Insights	October 10-11, 2010	43%	30%
Critical Insights	September 27, 2010	44%	32%
Critical Insights	September 13, 2010	48%	28%
Public Policy Polling	September 2-6, 2010	45%	38%

Results

Maine's 2nd congressional district election, 2010[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Mike Michaud (inc.)	147,042	55.13%
	Republican	Jason Levesque	119,669	44.87%
Totals			266,711	100.00%
	Democratic hold

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/2010election.pdf
2. ^ ^{a b} "Partisan Voting Index Districts of the 111th Congress." The Cook Political Report. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2011. <http://www.cookpolitical.com/sites/default/files/pvistate.pdf>.
3. ^ Russell, Eric (2010-09-24). "Pingree takes heat for rides on fiance’s plane". Bangor Daily News. http://www.bangordailynews.com/story/Statewide/Maines-Pingree-takes-heat-for-jet-travel,154586. Retrieved 2010-09-27. 
4. ^ http://blog.lib.umn.edu/cspg/smartpolitics/2010/11/nancy_pelosi_1_of_8_house_demo.php
5. ^ http://www.pinetreepolitics.com/2008/11/16/mike-michaud-still-undecided-about-running-for-governor/
6. ^ http://www.pressherald.com/news/michaud-levesque-trade-jabs-in-debate_2010-10-20.html
7. ^ http://www.asmainegoes.com/content/jason-levesque-calls-mike-michaud-finally-return-12000-rangel-contributions

External links

• Elections Division at the Maine Secretary of State site
• U.S. Congress candidates for Maine at Project Vote Smart
• Maine U.S. House from OurCampaigns.com
• Campaign contributions for U.S. Congressional races in Maine from OpenSecrets.org
• 2010 Maine General Election graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com
• House - Maine from the Cook Political Report