
Rep. Lucas Lanigan, R-Sanford, attends the Legislature’s opening session at the State House Wednesday. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald
A Republican lawmaker from Sanford who won reelection by a single vote after being accused of choking his wife was among the 186 lawmakers sworn into office by Gov. Janet Mills on Wednesday.
Rep. Lucas Lanigan was following a recount in House District 141 after being accused of felony domestic violence less than two weeks before the election.
Lanigan hurried into the House chamber prior to the session Wednesday, telling a reporter he didn’t have time to talk. He left the State House without commenting after Rep. Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, was elected speaker. In a text message, Lanigan said he has been advised by his lawyer not to talk about the case.
Democrats have called for Lanigan to resign, but Republicans argue that Lanigan should be allowed to have his day in court before people judge his actions.
After Lanigan won his House race in a recount, House Majority Leader Matt Moonen, D-Portland, said Lanigan should resign for the sake of his constituents.
“We are concerned about whether he should continue his service in the Legislature while those types of charges are pending,” Moonen said. “It is not ideal for the people of Shapleigh, Newfield and Sanford to have someone who is more focused on defending himself from criminal charges than representing their needs.”
When asked to respond to that comment, Lanigan said in a text Wednesday that “as a citizen or as a representative, we are all entitled to due process under the Constitution.”
The arrest warrant states Lanigan grabbed his wife’s neck and choked her for about 20 seconds on Oct. 25 before she was able to leave and call her friends for help.
Sanford police were searching for him before he turned himself in to the York County Jail on Oct. 28. He was charged with domestic violence aggravated assault, a Class B crime that could bring up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

Rep. Lucas Lanigan, R-Sanford, declined to speak to a reporter at the State House Wednesday and explained in a text later that his attorney advised him not to talk about accusations that he choked his wife in October. Lanigan has been charged with domestic violence aggravated assault. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald
Lanigan did not enter a plea at his first court appearance. His wife asked the judge and prosecutors to drop the charges, but Assistant District Attorney Linda Holdsworth-Donovan said victims regularly recant, sometimes because of pressure from the alleged perpetrators, and that the state was still pursuing charges against Lanigan.
Lanigan’s Democratic opponent, Patricia Kidder, appeared to win the seat on election night. But election officials in Sanford discovered a mistake in the tally. Once corrected, the race ended in a tie, with each candidate earning 2,476 votes.
About a quarter of the ballots in the race had been cast before news of Lanigan’s arrest became public. According to the Department of the Secretary of State, 1,306 absentee ballots were received before the incident was reported, including 394 Republicans and 370 unenrolled voters.
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