Republicans Flip Seat in Special Election

Maine held a special election Tuesday in its state House of Representatives.

Democrat Rep. Clinton Collamore reportedly resigned in February after he allegedly “forged signatures to collect public campaign funds, totaling $14,000, and violated the Maine Clean Elections Act,” according to News Center Maine.

Tuesday’s special election was a contest between Republican Abden Simmons and Democrat Wendy Pieh.

Simmons secured the 52 to 48 percent victory to win the seat for House District 45.

The Republican victory in Maine was seen as a surprise.

Republicans notch surprise win in Maine House special election after Dem resigns seat over forgery charges https://t.co/uEEMAzpxof

— TheBlaze (@theblaze) June 14, 2023

The Bangor Daily News reports that Republican Abden Simmons has flipped ME HD-45 with 52.2% of the vote to Democrat Wendy Pieh's 47.8% of the voteshttps://t.co/b8H6X9LfoN

— Political Election Projections (@tencor_7144) June 14, 2023

News Center Maine reports:

According to the Maine Department of the Secretary of State, Rep. Pieh received 1,317 votes and Rep. Simmons won with 1,438 votes.

Simmons will now represent Bremen, Friendship, Louds Island Township, Waldoboro, and Washington after Democrat Rep. Clinton Collamore resigned from his seat.

Although the Republican victory was a surprise, the win won’t change much for Maine’s political landscape in the immediate future.

Per Bangor Daily News:

The election will not change much in Augusta. Democrats control the executive and legislative branches and will now have an 81-68 advantage over House Republicans alongside two liberal-leaning independents. It is still a shot of momentum for a minority party that had hopes of flipping the House in last year’s election but were effectively stalemated by Democrats.

Simmons is expected to be seated in the next few days as the Legislature races to finish up work within two weeks or so. High-profile votes are expected by month’s end on a sweeping paid family and medical leave proposal, a controversial abortion-rights expansion championed by Gov. Janet Mills and a spending proposal floated by the governor.

The Republican served a single term in the seat after the 2016 election. He lost the seat two years later to former Rep. Jeff Evangelos, I-Friendship, and also dropped a hotly contested 2022 race to freshman state Sen. Cameron Reny, D-Bristol. Simmons put fisheries policy and technical education atop his priority list in an interview with the Lincoln County News.

Maine Republican Party Chairman Joel Stetkis said “Mainers in this battleground district” have had enough of Democrat far-left policies.

The Maine Republican Party posted to Facebook: