KENNEBUNK – Republicans were scheduled to caucus here on Thursday, July 21, to select a replacement candidate for House District 135, following the withdrawal of candidate Todd DiFede on July 11.

“Right now I don’t feel I could commit 100 percent effort toward the campaign and, if I won, the level of representation the district deserves,” said DiFede of his decision.

As of Monday afternoon, one candidate had emerged, though more could do so prior to the caucus meeting. Jared Hirschfield has registered with the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices. He currently serves as the Kennebunk Republican Committee chair.

Hirschfield, 24, is completing a degree in politics at St. Anselm College, commuting from his Kennebunk home to Manchester, New Hampshire, a couple of times a week, he said in a telephone interview on Monday.

“I can’t stand to have a seat go uncontested,” said Hirschfield – something he said he saw happen often in his former hometown of Long Island, New York – so decided to put his name to the caucus.

Hirschfield said he has been fascinated by politics since he was 13 years old. “When others were playing sports, I was watching cable TV news,” he said, adding that these days, he tunes into radio more often than cable news programs.

Whoever is selected at the caucus will face Democrat Daniel Sayre in the November contest. House District 135 includes part of Kennebunk and was created upon redistricting in 2021. It is an open seat.

This would have been DiFede’s his second bid for office. A retired FBI agent, he was the GOP candidate for House District 8 – now largely House 135 – in 2020. Incumbent Democrat Chris Babbidge, who has term-limited out, won that contest.

Since the June 14 primary, there have been 38 withdrawals statewide of candidate bids for offices ranging from the Maine Senate and Maine House to various county offices. Of those, 20 are Democrats, 18 are Republicans.

Emily Cook, spokeswoman for the Maine Secretary of States’ Office, said the deadline for replacement candidates to be made is July 25.