Eloise Vitelli of Arrowsic was elected Monday to represent the Democratic Party in the Aug. 27 special election for Senate District 19.

Vitelli, 64, is expected to run against Paula Benoit of Phippsburg, the only declared Republican candidate, whose caucus is this evening in Bath; and Daniel Stromgren of Topsham, selected as the Green Independent candidate last week.

Eighty-nine Democratic delegates chosen by town and city committees turned out at Mt. Ararat High School to vote in the countywide caucus.

Each of the three declared candidates, Will Neilson of Arrowsic, David Sinclair of Bath, and Vitelli, was nominated, then spoke for five minutes each before the vote was taken.

The party had already anointed Vitelli. She was nominated Monday by Rep. Seth Berry of Bowdoinham, who — along with state Sen. Seth Goodall, the Senate majority leader who vacated the seat to take a federal jobs post — had publicly endorsed her campaign in the weeks leading up to the caucus.

In her nominating speech, Vitelli said that for 30 years she has supported policies that promote good jobs, permit people to continue their educations, and start small businesses.

“It is the people of Maine that are our most precious resource,” she said. “And it is the people who deserve our full attention.”

Vitelli — who has never sought elective office — said that her focuses would be on education, including early childhood education; health care, including an expansion of Medicaid; and small businesses, since the majority of Mainers work for a small business.

She was elected on the first ballot.

Although the party did not release exact numbers, an election on the first ballot means Vitelli must have garnered at least 45 votes — half the voting body plus one.

Bronwen Tudor, Sagadahoc County Democratic chairwoman, said Vitelli “achieved a significant majority” on the first ballot.

Vitelli is running as a Clean Election candidate. After the caucus, she accepted $5 checks payable to the Maine Clean Elections Fund in a bid to reach the 175 small contributions necessary to be eligible for Clean Elections funding.

Democrats also elected members to several convention committees at the caucus.

New Platform Committee members include Paul Johnson of Bath, David Fluharty of Bath and Dan Kornrumpf of Arrowsic; the new Credential Committee member is Linda Hjortland of Georgetown; and the new Permanent Organization committee member is Gretta Wark of Bath.

District 19 includes all of Sagadahoc County and the town of Dresden in Lincoln County.

ghamilton@timesrecord.com