Maine--Details

MAINE

4 Electoral Votes

Bush-Cheney	Gore-Lieberman
Campaign	Campaign
Bush-Cheney State Chairman: Ross J. Connelly ...resident of Biddleford; affiliated with the Bechtel organization for 22 years before pursuing independent business opportunities; in 1998 was the Republican nominee in Maine's 1st CD, losing to Tom Allen by 60% to 36%. Campaign Coordinator: Sam Patten Office: 324 Fore Street, Portland Victory 2000 Exec. Dir.: Dwayne Bickford (ME Rep. Party exec. dir.) Maine Republican Party Chairman: Kathy Watson Exec. Dir.: Dwayne Bickford Office: 100 Water Street, Hallowell (3 mi. from Augusta)	Gore-Lieberman State Director: Judy de Frietas ...started in Sept.; previously worked in municipal government in New York City. Press Secretary: Mara Gavin Office: 8 City Center, Portland Coordinated Campaign Director: Barbara Raths (ME Dem. Party exec. dir.) Maine Democratic Party Chairman: Gwethalyn Phillips Exec. Dir.: Barbara Raths Office: 12 Spruce Street, Augusta

Candidate Travel (Aug. 1-Nov. 7) GWB: 2 visits DC: 2 visits	Candidate Travel (Aug. 1-Nov. 7) AG: 1 visit JL: 3 visits
	Nov. 6 -- JL evening rally in Hanger 13 at Bangor International Airport, Bangor.
Nov. 3 -- DC and LC Victory 2000 rally at Southern Maine Technical College, Portland.
	Oct. 31 -- JL participates in a discussion on prescription drugs, Penobscot Theater Company Opera House, Bangor.
Oct. 20 -- GWB Victory 2000 rally w/ Sen. John McCain in Hanger 13 at Bangor International Airport, Bangor.
	Sept. 13 -- AG participates in the school day, discusses plans on college tuition, Lewiston High School, Lewiston. (Sept. 12 -- AG overnights at the Lewiston home of Don Jalbert, who teaches computer aided drafting at Lewiston Regional Technical Center. [Later, Jalbert was one of Gore's citizen advisors for the first debate].)
Sept. 7 a.m. -- 1. DC and LC (arrive Sept. 6) participate in breakfast for Maine Victory 2000 at Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland. 2. DC remarks on defense modernization at Portland Valve, Inc. in South Portland.
	Sept. 1 -- JL addresses community (health care focus), gymnasium of the YWCA, Portland.
Aug. 29 -- Airport arrival at Portland International Jetport; Leadership Forum on Education, Moore Middle School, Portland.

A Sampling of More Campaign Activity	A Sampling of More Campaign Activity
Nov. 4 -- Gov. Paul Cellucci and RNC co-chair Pat Harrison bus tour in Southern Maine. Nov. 2 -- Gov. Christie Todd Whitman (NJ) tours Designs By Lucinda in Scarborough. Nov. 2 -- Gov. Paul Cellucci (MA) accompanied by Sen. Collins does a Main Street walk and talks to a business group in Presque Isle (northernmost county). Oct. 27 -- Former President George H.W. Bush does a veteran's event at the Elks Club in Lewiston and a spaghetti lunch with Franco-American community at St. Louis Alumni Hall in Biddeford. Oct. 25 -- "Barnstorm for Reform" Govs. Rowland (CT), Janklow (SD) and Racicot (MT) and Texas Democrat State Sen. Kenneth Armbrister hold news conference outside Alternative Energy Inc. in Bangor. Oct. 24 -- Bush's sister Doro Bush Koch at Husson College in Bangor and at Maine Technical College in South Portland (both events women's focus). Oct. 16 -- Bush health care advisor Gail Wilensky ed board meeting at the Bangor Daily News and discussion at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. (Tipper Gore had visited Oct. 3). Oct. 4 -- Bush economic advisor Larry Lindsey (a Bowdoin grad.) meets with ed boards of the Portland Press Herald and Lewiston Sun-Journal.	Nov. 2 -- Actor Richard Dreyfuss speaks to students at a mock election at Bangor Auditorium in Bangor, then speaks to supporters at state Sen. Mary Cathcart's home in Orono. Oct. 23 -- DNC chair Joe Andrew, touting 10-minute "George W. Bush's Priorities" video, visits Portland and the University of Maine in Orono; the DNC held dozens of such events around the country on this day. Oct. 21 -- Bill Bradley at University of Southern Maine in Portland. Oct. 16 -- A "Texas Truth Squad" featuring Texas State Rep. Debra Danburg (D-Houston) and Kristen Warren, executive director of the Texas League of Conservation Voters, does community meeting and talk with environmental activists in Portland. Oct. 10 -- Hadassah Lieberman reads to children at People's Regional Opportunity Program, a Head Start program in Portland. Oct. 3 -- Tipper Gore roundtable discussion on health care concerns at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. Sept. 6 -- Rep. Barney Frank at University of Southern Maine. Also: Former Sen. George Mitchell did some campaigning for Gore.

Television	Television


Some Newspaper Endorsements	Some Newspaper Endorsements
Bangor Daily News --11/4/00	Portland Press Herald (Maine Sunday Telegram) --10/29/00

Newspaper -- No Endorsement

Lewiston Sun-Journal "This newspaper simply has a long tradition of not endorsing candidates for any office at any level... We do editorialize on practically every other subject under the Sun. People here can only remember twice that we endorsed an individual, once for Olympia Snowe because she was a hometown person and once for Gov. King..." --Rex Rhoades, Executive Editor

Miscellaneous Notes

Ross Connelly started as chair of the Bush effort around mid-1999. One of his major activities was voter list acquisition. In Maine this task is a "monumental logistical nightmare" as it necessitates going to each individual town. The lists are needed for mail and telephoning, and Connelly worked them into much better shape than they had been for his own congressional campaign in 1998.

Maine held its presidential primary on March 7. To place a presidential candidate on the primary ballot requires a $2,500 filing fee or between 2,000 and 3,000 petition signatures; Bush volunteers far exceeded the requirement, gathering some 6,000 signatures as a way to begin to build up the organization. Maine ended up as the only one of the New England states to back Bush during the primaries (NH on Feb. 1 and ME, CT, MA, RI, and VT on March 7 went for McCain).

In the fall, the Bush campaign in Maine had three active coalitions: veterans, sportsmen and educators. Former President George H.W. Bush did a veterans event in Lewiston in late October. Earlier in the month, the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine endorsed Gov. Bush. On August 29, Gov. Bush participated in a "Leadership Forum on Education."

One of the major stories of the closing days of the campaign came out of Maine. Tom Connolly, a Portland lawyer and former Democratic gubernatorial candidate, found out and revealed that Bush had been arrested for drunken driving in Kennebunkport in 1976. Erin Fehleu of local station WPXT broke the story on the evening of Nov. 2. While most observers believe the DUI revelation had no effect on the national outcome, it may have cost Bush some votes in Maine.

On Election Day, Bush carried 5 out of 16 counties. In hindsight, some on the Bush team might have put an even greater emphasis on the 2nd congressional district, since the 1st, with Portland, was likely not winnable. Nonetheless the national campaign put resources -- both visits and television -- into Maine, making for a strong campaign. Indeed Connelly argues that although Maine went for Gore, it may have tipped the election to Bush. Because Maine was competitive on the very last day, Gore's running mate Joe Lieberman was there on Nov. 6 (he also campaigned in Maine on Oct. 31). Had Maine been less competitive, Lieberman "could have gone down to Florida and done a rally" possibly gaining some hundreds of votes.

A key to success in Maine is to appeal to unenrolled voters: Gore emphasized health care, education, and Social Security (health care first on the list because Maine is a small rural state and prices are high).

The campaign in Maine really came down to the 2nd congressional district. "They knew they had a shot at the 2nd," said Barbara Raths, who was then executive director of the Maine Democratic Party. Thus Gore and Lieberman's latter visits and a fair number of surrogate visits were to places in the 2nd district.

The DUI story posed a challenge. "We didn't have anything to do with it," said Raths. Raths said it created an uproar and a flood of calls from the media in the closing days of the campaign when people were exhausted. "It made it hard to stay on message," she said.

Nader
Ralph Nader rallied at Portland High School in Portland on Oct. 1 during a northeastern swing in advance of the first presidential debate in Boston. He squeezed in a final Maine visit on Nov. 6, holding a late night rally at the University of Southern Maine in Portland.

Nader's Maine campaign was quite active. On just about every day from September through Election Day the calendar showed a meeting, tabling or other activity going on in some part of the state. One noteworthy event was a walk from Waterfront Park in Gardiner to the State House in Augusta on Oct. 28.

Nader achieved his seventh best showing in Maine, 5.7% (AK, VT, MA, RI, MT and HI were higher).

Maine Field Coordinator: Matt Tilley
Portland Area Coordinator: Ben Meiklejohn
State Campaign Office: Westmarket Square, Bangor

Buchanan
Pat Buchanan visited Maine on Oct. 2 during travels in advance of the first presidential debate. He stopped in at Becky's Diner in Portland, toured LaValley Lumber Company in Sanford, where he spoke against Question 2, the forestry referendum, and he held a town hall meeting at Edward Little High School in Auburn.