Following disappointing election results, Lincoln County Republican Committee (LCRC) members and candidates took stock for a day or two and then turned their efforts toward building a winning campaign in 2014.

The LCRC met November 12 at the Newcastle fire station and plotted the start of a winning campaign for 2014. At the meeting, candidates shared their experiences of the campaign with the committee.  Included were Deb Sanderson, Buzz Pinkham, Ray Soule, Stephanie Hawke, Les Fossel and Jon McKane.  During the discussion, it became clear as to what happened, said Earl Inman, chairman of the Lincoln County Republican Committee.

“It wasn't hard to identify what the Democrats did to win the election,”  he said. “When you consider all of them, it's surprising that we were so close. Many campaigns were won or lost by less than a one percent margin. In fact, we have some recounts going on.”

Among the factors that helped the Democrats win, he said, were their better get-out-the vote efforts, significantly out-spending the Republicans, and the financial and manpower support of unions and other special interest groups, including those who receive some form of payment from the state and don't want to lose it.

“But one of the most difficult and damaging things to contend with was the extremely nasty attack ads that came to people's homes, on the Internet and on radio and TV,” Inman said. “Many felt it was the worst they've ever seen it in Maine politics.

“We had four candidates for whom this was their first time running for a state office. They weren't prepared for the impact the negative campaigning had not only on their campaign, but also on their family and friends, as well as their businesses.

“Our two other state candidates were targeted and a lot of money was spent aimed at defeating them,” Inman said. In addition, there were a number of cases of alleged voting irregularities have shown up, some of which are being followed up, he said.

Next the committee started to put in place the first steps to deal effectively with these issues looking forward to the 2014 elections.

In other business, Gregory Hodge announced the next meeting of the State GOP will be Saturday, Dec. 1, at 10 a.m. at the City Center in Augusta. The purpose of the meeting, he said, will be to elect a new chairman of the state committee. The current chairman, Charlie Webster, has declined to run again. Anyone can attend the meeting but only committee members can vote.

Inman announced the formation of a nominating committee charged with proposing a slate of officers to be voted on at the Lincoln County committee's January meeting.  Nominations can also be made from the floor by committee members. Officers to be elected include chairman, vice chairman, secretary, treasurer, and finance chair. Members of the nominating committee include Deb Sanderson, Lisa Hunt, John Harris, Christiana Poole and Gregory Hodge. Anyone interested in running for an office can contact them, Inman said.

Stuart Smith agreed to chair a committee to put together plans for a Lincoln Day Dinner to be held in February.  

The next meeting of the LCRC will be December 12, location to be determined. It will be a social event and a thank you to all the volunteers. For more information about the LCRC, visit www.lincolncountyrepublicans.org or contact Inman at lcrcchair@zoho.com.