BRUNSWICK

The Maine Republican Party is currently without candidates for the District 50 and District 51 races for the Maine House of Representatives.

Robert E. Thompson of Brunswick quietly dropped out of the District 50 race in June and Jeffrey S. Slocum dropped out of the District 51 race on Friday, according to filings with the Secretary of State’s office, leaving Republicans with no one to run. Republicans have until July 25 to find replacement candidates for those races.

“To the best of my knowledge, we don’t have a replacement for Mr. Thompson, unfortunately,” said Mark Holbrook, chairman of the Brunswick GOP and the Republican candidate for Congress in District 1.

Holbrook also noted that despite “beating around the bushes,” Republicans had yet to find a replacement for Slocum in District 51 either.

District 50 is currently represented by Ralph Tucker, a Brunswick Democrat, who won the seat in a 2-1 landslide against Holbrook in 2014 and is running for re-election. In an interview, Tucker was quick to note that the Democrats’ registration advantage in Brunswick could be keeping Republicans from stepping forward to run.

“Brunswick has a registration of about 40 percent Democrats, about 20 percent Republicans, and about 35 percent undeclared,” said Tucker when asked about Thompson’s withdrawal.

Republicans might think it’s a waste of resources to compete in such a difficult race, Tucker said, and may choose to “focus where they have the best chance.”

In campaign filings, Thompson stated that he would not be running under Maine’s Clean Election Act or fundraising traditionally, an indication that he may have been a placeholder candidate — intended to reserve a spot on the November ballot for an undesignated future candidate. Often in cases where a candidate cannot be found in time for the primaries, political parties will put placeholders on the ballot while they try to recruit a real candidate for office. It’s not unusual for candidates to withdraw after the primaries in June. In July alone, more than two dozen candidates across the state have withdrawn so far.

Slocum, in neighboring District 51, had given the appearance of running an actual campaign. He had raised $400 for his race so far and had set up a Facebook page to promote his candidacy. However, he too dropped out for unspecified reasons. Attempts to reach Slocum on Tuesday were unsuccessful. Unless swift action is taken, Rep. Joyce McCreight, D-Harpswell, the incumbent, will be unopposed in November.

As things stand, Michael

Stevens, who is challenging incumbent Rep. Mathea Daughtry in District 49 is the only Republican running for the Maine House in Brunswick. With the deadline fast approaching to fill these empty slots, many Brunswick Republicans will be left in suspense as to whether someone will step up to represent them in their House races.

nstrout@timesrecord.com

Dropping out

• ROBERT E. THOMPSON of Brunswick quietly dropped out of the District 50 race in June and Jeffrey S. Slocum dropped out of the District 51 race on Friday, according to filings with the Secretary of State’s office, leaving Republicans with no one to run. Republicans have until July 25 to find replacement candidates for those races.

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