Volk loses Senate 30 seat, other incumbents strong

In a surprise upset, Democrat Linda Sanborn of Gorham defeated incumbent Senate District 30 Republican Amy Volk by 171 votes Tuesday.

In other races, it was largely a good day to be an incumbent seeking state office in Westbrook, Gorham and Buxton Tuesday night as four other legislative races with incumbents favored those individuals currently holding the seat.

In Westbrook, voters elected Democrat Ann Peoples to House District 35, which covers the section of the city north of the Presumpscot River.

SENATE 25

Sen. Cathy Breen, D-Falmouth, easily won re-election in District 25, which includes Falmouth, Cumberland, Yarmouth, Chebeague, Long Island, Gray and part of Westbrook, where she captured close to 61 percent of the vote.

Breen defeated her Republican rival, Cathy Nichols, 15,152 to 9,442.

Breen said she’s “really grateful to the voters and appreciate their faith in me. It’s a great privilege to represent this district.”

SENATE 28

Sen. Heather Sanborn, D-Portland, was uncontested in Senate District 28, which represents Westbrook and part of Portland. This will be Sanborn’s first term in the Maine State Senate, although she has served two terms as a representative of House District 43 (Falmouth and part of Portland).

SENATE 30

By 171 votes, Democrat Linda Sanborn of Gorham defeated Republican incumbent Amy Volk in Senate District 30. The district includes Gorham, part of Buxton and part of Scarborough.

The final tally was 11,128 to 10,957.

In Gorham, Sanborn led Volk 4,770 to 4,040. Volk led Sanborn 1,928 to 1,507 in Buxton and in Scarborough, 4,989 to 4,851.

Sanborn, a retired family physician, previously served four terms in the Maine House of Representatives. Sanborn, 66, told the American Journal Wednesday afternoon that Wednesday that Volk had conceded.

Sanborn said Volk has always worked hard for Maine people. “Amy ran an honest and clean race,” Sanborn said. “I knew I had to work hard to win this.”

Volk of Scarborough, 49, had served two terms in the House and two terms in the Senate. Volk thanked her supporters Wednesday and said she wished Sanborn well.

“I’m proud of the work I did,” Volk said Wednesday afternoon.

SENATE 31

Incumbent Justin Chenette of Saco, a Democrat, was re-elected, defeating Republican challenger Stavros Mendros of Hollis, 12,083 to 6,093. The district represents part of Buxton, Hollis, Limington, Saco and Old Orchard Beach.

Buxton voters favored Chenette 332-297.

“This is a win for our community and our entire district,” Chenette said Wednesday in an email statement. “Voters sent a strong message that they want an ethical, transparent, and accessible senator. Now the real work begins. This is your seat. I work for you.”

HOUSE 16

Voters in House District 16, which covers Hollis and sections of Buxton and Saco, decided incumbent Don Marean, R-Hollis, deserves another term in the statehouse.

On Tuesday, Marean, a Republican, beat his Democratic challenger David Durrell 2,707 to 2,109.

Marean has served in the Maine House of Representatives for a decade and most recently was a member of Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, Joint Select Committee on Joint Rules and Joint Select Committee on Marijuana Legalization Implementation.

Marean said in his return to Augusta he would like to focus on continuing to strengthen and fine-tune medical marijuana and adult-use marijuana laws, lowering the cost of electricity and providing wider broadband access across the state. Like in previous terms, Marean would also like to find ways to lower taxes while also providing a better education for students, he said.

Had he been elected, Durrell said he would have liked to focus on small business development, transportation and education, something he said is not getting funded to the extent it should.

HOUSE 22

Buxton Selectman Mark Blier defeated fellow Buxton resident Richard Fitzgerald in the House District 22 race, 2,254 to 1,964. The district includes part of Buxton, part of Standish and Limerick and Limington.

In Buxton, Blier, Republican, topped Fitzgerald, a Democrat, 892 to 733; Fitzgerald took Standish 170 to 155; Blier carried Limington, 913 to 711; and Fitzgerald took Limerick 350 to 294.

HOUSE 26

Maureen “Mo” Terry of Gorham, a Democrat, was uncontested in House District 26 after her Republican challenger, Kenneth Jack Hoyt, withdrew from the race.

HOUSE 27
Incumbent Andrew McLean, a Democrat, defeated challenger Roger Densmore, a Republican, in House District 27 3,577 to 2,070. The district represents part of Gorham and part of Scarborough. McLean won Gorham 3,258 to 1,774 and narrowly won in Scarborough 319-296.

HOUSE 34

Rep. Drew Gattine, D-Westbrook, was uncontested in his reelection bid for the House District 34 seat that covers the southern end of Westbrook. This will be Gattine’s fourth term in the House of Representatives.

HOUSE 35

Westbrook voters have returned Ann Peoples to the Legislature as repesentative of House 35, which covers the section of the city north of the Presumpscot River.

On Tuesday, Peoples, a Democrat, captured close to 62 percent of the vote in Wards 1, 4 and 5 to hand Jim Bourque, her Republican challenger, his second consecutive House 35 loss in as many tries.

For the last four years, the seat had been filled by Dillon Bates, who resigned from the post in September after allegations surfaced about improper relationships when he worked as a coach and teacher at Maine Girls Academy in Portland.

Peoples, who served in the Maine Legislature from 2006 to 2014, has been on the City Council over three stints, from 1994 to 1996, 2003 to 2005 and 2016 to present.

Peoples intends to keep her City Council position.

“I will do my level best to give each of those jobs the attention they need,” she told the American Journal in September.

Bourque said he ran for the legislative seat to “go in and be a voice for business, try to contribute something and give people a choice.”

Enhancing transportation infrastructure, improving access to health care and making communities friendly for all ages so seniors can retain their homes, families can stay in the community and students get the education they need, are three of the top issues Peoples said she would like to tackle in Augusta.

Staff Writer Kate Irish Collins contributed to this story.

Michael Kelley can be reached at 780-9106 or mkelley@keepmecurrent.com or on Twitter @mkelleynews. Robert Lowell can be reached at 780-9089 or rlowell@keepmecurrent.com