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Democrat Eloise Vitelli claimed the Senate District 19 seat Tuesday, garnering 4,621 votes to Republican Paula Benoit’s 4,339 in what appears to be the most intensely funded special election in Maine legislative history.

Green Independent candidate Daniel Stromgren of Topsham received 357 votes — 4 percent of the votes cast.

Vitelli, of Arrowsic, will replace former Senate Majority Leader Seth Goodall, a Richmond Democrat who resigned in July to head the Northeast region of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

“I am humbled and thrilled by tonight’s win. I
am thankful to the folks in our community who took the time to turn out and
vote and to the dedicated team of volunteers who tirelessly worked to get our
message out,” said Eloise Vitelli after the final town, Topsham, reported its results. “I look forward to beginning my service in
the State Senate, where I will be committed to helping workers and businesses
by creating a level playing field for all Maine people to have good jobs and
succeed.”

 Vitelli added, “I heard from people across the
district that they want someone who will stand up for their interests and work
collaboratively to strengthen our state. I look forward to serving the people
in our community.”

Late on Tuesday night, GOP party chair Rick Bennett issued a concession, stating that party figures showed that Vitelli had won the race.

Voters in Arrowsic, Bath, Bowdoinham, Dresden, Georgetown, Richmond and Topsham chose Vitelli, while Benoit took Bowdoin, Phippsburg, West Bath and Woolwich. 

Democrats successfully painted the election as a referendum on the LePage administration to retain their 19-15-1 advantage in the Senate.

Democrats won the most recent special midterm election in Maine — also in the Mid-coast, in 2012 — when Chris Johnson beat Dana Dow by 171 votes in the first legislative election after LePage entered the Blaine House. And Democrats continued an impressive winning streak form November 2012, in which it won nearly every contested legislative race in the Mid-coast.

Goodall seized the seat from Republicans in November 2008 by narrowly defeating Benoit, a one-term incumbent, after a recall, then defended it against Republicans David Kaler, of Bath, in 2010 and Jeffrey Pierce, of Dresden, in 2012.

On Tuesday, voters turned out in surprisingly large numbers across the district as residents decided who should fill the year remaining on Goodall’s term.

In Topsham, Ruth Lyons, the top voting official, said turnout was “heavy” at 11 a.m. but that voting went smoothly throughout the day. 

In Bath, City Clerk Mary White said voter turnout had been “brisk” most of the day  By 3:30, White said that 1,500 ballots, including absentee ballots, had been cast. The final tally of the day was a total number of 2,241 voters out of a potential 6,939 – a total of 32.3 percent.

In Bowdoin, the town clerk handed out 150 ballots in the morning and predicted a higher turnout than for June school referendums in that town. Woolwich registered a 42 percent turnout. Topsham had 2,015 ballots cast including 367 absentees — a 29 percent turnout.

Greeting voters in Topsham in the morning, Vitelli; Benoit, of Phippsburg; and Stromgren were amiable and talkative with voters and each other as they capped abbreviated campaigns lasting only a month — one of the most intensely funded legislative contests ever in Maine.

The Bangor Daily News reported that independent expenditure filings compiled by the Maine Ethics Commission showed $158,000 had been spent for or against Vitelli and Benoit, with no outside spending on behalf of Stromgren, as of Monday afternoon. That total is likely to bulge after final filings are released.

In a short campaign, the major parties were hoping mailers, robocalls and other outreach drives will have outsized impact.

The most expensive Maine Senate race in 2012 — and in Maine history — was in the Bangor area, where Democrat Geoffrey Gratwick defeated incumbent Republican Nichi Farnham. That contest drew more than $454,000 in campaign spending, but financial disclosures indicate that spending began in February, some eight months before the election.

In rough figures, that puts average daily spending on the Senate 19 race at more than $3,700, compared to about $1,900 per day for Gratwick vs. Farnham.

Both Benoit and Vitelli, as well as Stromgren expressed optimism heading into the election.

Late Tuesday at Byrne’s Irish Pub in Bath, Benoit, surrounded by family and campaign volunteers, sounded conciliatory, saying she had run “the best I could.”

“If I win, I’ll go up to Augusta and do the best I can, and if not, Joe and I are going to Florida in January,” she said. “No matter what happens, I’m fine. I did the best I could. I’m not a political junkie.”

Stromgren called Vitelli at her campaign office in Bath to concede and congratulate her.

Vitelli’s win — by more than 3 percent, which prevents an automatic recount — preserves the Democrats’ power base in the Senate and reaffirms the effectiveness of their 2012 campaign strategy that linked Republican legislative candidates to Gov. Paul LePage.

“Given Vitelli’s relative lack of political experience, Benoit should have a cakewalk,” said Emily Shaw, a liberal leaning assistant professor of political science at Thomas College in Waterville. “But the potential impact of the governor’s style and the fact that in the last session we saw that Senate Republicans frequently came to the defense of his political decisions is relevant to anyone thinking about making a choice in this election.”

Vitelli, who was on hand greeting voters along with Paula Benoit’s daughter and a representative from the Stromgren campaign at the Bath Middle School, said she was told that turnout was high everywhere.  “We were told that turnout in Topsham exceeded expectations,” she said.   

John Sims, who voted in Bath after work Tuesday, said his main concern was that the Legislature be able to work together. 

He wouldn’t identify his vote, except to say that he was concerned the Legislature was unable or unwilling to override a veto when necessary. 

“We need stronger people who are willing to work around (Gov. Paul LePage) if he won’t work with them,” Sims said.”

His sentiment was echoed by Bath voter Kurt Spiridakis, a 33-year-old Maine Maritime Museum shipbuilder who sprinted into the polling place to beat the 8 p.m. closing time and admitted he voted for Vitelli without knowing much about her.

“For me, it was more about being worried about the direction of our state under the current leadership,” he said. Asked if he was referring to Gov. LePage, he said he was.

“I don’t like the rhetoric that’s being assigned to our state,” Spiridakis said. “Beyond that, I didn’t really get into the candidates’ backgrounds too much, other than the cards they sent me.”

Vitelli, who is married to former Times Record reporter Bob Kalish, 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 in her nominating speech. “And it is the people who deserve our full attention.” 

Vitelli said that her focuses would include 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.

Vitelli, who was chairwoman of the Sagadahoc County Democratic Committee for four years, said Goodall asked her to run for his seat, which includes Sagadahoc County and the town of Dresden.

“He turned to me when he knew he got the [SBA] position,” she said.

Vitelli said she has helped Goodall with all of his Senate campaigns and has “worked closely with him” since then. She also wrote him a letter of recommendation for the SBA position, she said.

Vitelli said she hopes to bring her experience in economic development — which she called “my clear passion” — to the Senate 19 seat.

“Above that, I hope to bring a sense of how to make good decisions at the government level,” she said. “I’m a strong believer in the art of compromise. I guess I am old enough to be able to take the long view, and recognize that things don’t happen overnight, that we have to work together to find solutions. And I hope to bring an even temper.”

As director of program and policy at Women, Work and Community, Vitelli created a statewide job training program for entrepreneurs and unemployed workers. She serves on the Maine Economic Growth Council, is former president of the Midcoast Economic Development District, and has formerly served as board president of the MidCoast Economic Development District, Community Development Advisory Council for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Maine Human Resources Development Council, and the Arrowsic School and Regional School Unit 1 Transition Committee.

Goodall called her “a tireless advocate for small business (who) has worked her whole life helping increase opportunities for Mainers.”

“Eloise has focused her career on helping others build their businesses,” state Rep. Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham, said in a release upon announcement of her candidacy. “As state senator, Eloise will be in a position to continue her focus on building and strengthening Maine’s economy.”

In Richmond, Rex Dickinson voted Democratic, “as I don’t like the governor. The sooner we get rid of him, the better.”

Al and Cathy, who chose not to give their last names, both voted Democratic. “I want to keep Democrats in the Legislature because the governor is an embarrassment to the state,” they said.

Michelle Schwarz, who voted in Richmond with her young daughter, Iris — who was resting on her hip and holding a pink toy cellphone — said, “I voted for Paula. I don’t have a reason. I met her at Richmond Days. Maybe that is why.”

Bill Holmes said: “I went Republican as I like what LePage is doing. The Republicans want to cut and the Democrats want to keep spending. If we can’t pay our bills, we shouldn’t be spending any more money.” 

Barbara Srock, who worked at the Richmond polls and didn’t want to comment on the election, said, “I am so sorry we are losing Seth. I wish him all the luck in the world. He’s a Richmond boy. We’ve seen him grow up and now he is on to other things.”

Times Record correspondent Janet Clement contributed to this story from Richmond; Times Record staff writer Bob Mentzinger reported from Topsham, Bath and Woolwich; Times Record staff writer Gina Hamilton reported from Bath; and information from the Bangor Daily News was also used in this report.