Cape Elizabeth Town Councilor Mike Mowles will have to defeat his former campaign manager, Jennifer Duddy, in a Republican primary to run for the Maine House of Representatives in November.

Duddy, a lawyer, announced her intention to seek the nomination at the Republican Caucus in Cape Elizabeth Saturday.

The move pits Duddy against Mowles, who had already announced his intention to seek the seat. Duddy had been serving as Mowles’ campaign manager before she decided to seek the nomination herself.

After serving on Mowles’ campaign, Duddy said she realized she and Mowles “have fundamentally different ideas about how to get Republicans elected in Cape.”

For Duddy, a primary is an effective way of spreading Republican values. “A primary is a good thing,” she said. “The best thing we can do for our party is to get our message out.”

A primary will help the Republican Party gain momentum on the race to the November election, said Duddy. “We need to have debates and sharpen our messages,” said Duddy.

The Republican Party will hold a primary election in July to decide who will compete against Democrat Cynthia Dill in the November election.

Duddy, a former Democrat, switched political parties in 2004. Duddy said she has supported Republican candidates in Maine for years and calls herself fiscally conservative.

“I finally changed my enrollment a couple of years ago to catch up with my thinking on the economic issues facing the state,” she said in an e-mail Tuesday night.

“She’s come from the dark side over to our side,” Mowles said in response to Duddy’s announcement.

Duddy said she’s always been a moderate, independent thinker. As a state representative, Duddy said she would “work to improve Maine’s business climate,” by repealing the Business Equipment Tax, “change laws to make healthcare more affordable,” by making market based reforms, including repealing the Dirigo plan, and “work to produce a rational state budget,” by limiting spending.

Like Mowles, Duddy is an opponent of the Dirigo healthcare plan. “That is a failed experiment. It is not sustainable,” she said, adding that Dirigo is an obstacle to creating health insurance programs that are affordable.

She’s served as an assistant attorney general prosecuting child support enforcement and child protection cases. She’s also worked as an elder abuse attorney at Legal Services for the Elderly in Portland.

This experience has given her the skills she needs to make change in Augusta, she said.

Mowles pledged to support Duddy’s campaign if she wins July’s primary election. “I’m sure she’d support me,” he said.

Mowles said Duddy’s announcement doesn’t change his campaign. His messages are clear, he said.

“I have more experience and lots to offer the citizens of Cape Elizabeth,” he said.

Duddy has lived in Cape Elizabeth for seven years. She lives with her husband, Michael, and two sons, Sam and Ben.

Jennifer Duddy