AUGUSTA — Republicans and Democrats in state House of Representatives District 57 plan to caucus next month to pick new candidates for the race.
Both parties find themselves without any candidates because those elected on primary day have since dropped out.
On the Republican side, Matthew Pouliot, vice chairman of the Augusta Planning Board, has announced he plans to seek his party’s nomination; while Larry Ringrose, who previously expressed interest in running, has changed his mind and dropped out, putting his support behind Pouliot.
“I’ve talked with Matt Pouliot and believe that he will do an outstanding job representing House District 57,” Ringrose said of his decision to not run for the Republican nomination in District 57, which is made up of part of Augusta.
Pouliot is a member of the Kennebec Valley Area Board of Junior Achievement of Maine and is on the Augusta Downtown Alliance Board of Directors, the board of the Rotary Club of Augusta and the Augusta Good Government Committee.
Pouliot is a real estate agent with RE/MAX Capital in Hallowell and owner of Alliance Properties, a real estate management and investment company.
Republicans living in District 57 will caucus at 6 p.m. July 9 at Augusta City Center to pick a new District 57 candidate. Andrew D. Worcester, who won the primary over Michael Hein, dropped out of the race for the House after the primary.
Augusta Republicans initially were scheduled to caucus July 2, but the meeting was moved to July 9 to allow the state to officially declare the seat vacant.
Democrats will meet at 6:30 p.m. July 11, also at Augusta City Center, to pick a new candidate to replace incumbent Rep. Maeghan Maloney, who dropped out of the District 57 race to run for district attorney.
Former lawmaker Patsy Crockett, who held the seat before Maloney, said she will seek the nomination. Crockett left the House in 2010 to run for the Senate, but she was defeated by Sen. Roger Katz, R-Augusta.
Monica Castellanos, who recently worked with Matt Dunlap in his failed bid for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate and previously worked nine years as U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud’s communications director, also has expressed interest in running as a Democrat in District 57.
Castellanos, currently a partner in a consulting and communications business, and president of the Westside Neighborhood Association in Augusta and a member of the board of Kennebec Valley Humane Society, confirmed she is considering seeking her party’s nomination.
Melissa Sterry, chairwoman of the Augusta Democratic Committee, said anyone else interested in running should contact her, in order to be informed of the rules of the special meeting at which the Democratic candidate will be selected.
Keith Edwards — 621-5647
kedwards@centralmaine.com
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