Not long after launching a bid for the Legislature, teacher and football coach Lawrence “Skip” Bessey decided to end his campaign for the Maine House’s 58th district.
But after Republican primary votes were counted last week, he was one vote away from taking the top spot, and ranked-choice voting could hand him a victory he didn’t ask for.
Bessey said he left the race for personal and financial reasons in the spring and tried to inform the secretary of state’s office of his decision. He encouraged voters to support his friend, pastor Dexter “Buzz” Bridges. But Bessey’s name remained on the ballot, and he landed narrowly behind his friend, with 459 first-preference votes to Bridges’ 460.
“They might not have heard that I wasn’t running, but they knew who I was and kind of what I stand for,” he said after the results came in.
A third candidate ran for the seat, real estate agent Jeffrey Harris. Harris captured about a quarter of the vote, and will now be eliminated from the race via ranked-choice voting. His voters’ second choices will decide the outcome of the race. That means Bessey could clinch the nomination.
Bessey said he’s not sure what he will do if he wins the nomination. He has the option to drop out of the race, giving the Republican Party a chance to replace him before November.
“I’ll cross the bridge when I come to it,” he said. “I believe things happen for a reason.”
He said he suspects many of Harris’ voters may have ranked Bridges second. Harris won a majority of votes in New Sharon, where Bridges lives.
Ballots from across the state are being processed by the secretary of state this week, and a result in the race will likely be announced later this week. It’s one of the only legislative races heading to a ranked-choice outcome, but counting is a slow process, and officials are working their way through the gubernatorial races for both parties.
The rural district northwest of Augusta is one of the most competitive in the state; unenrolled Rep. Sharon Frost narrowly defeated a Republican incumbent there in 2024. Whoever gets the GOP nomination will face her in November.
Democrats did not put up a candidate for the seat, likely planning to direct liberal enthusiasm toward Frost in November.
If Bessey wins enough second-choice votes to win the nomination, he will have until July 2 to decide whether to drop out of the race and allow the party to place someone else on the November ballot. He thinks Bridges can win the race whether he wins the nomination outright or becomes a replacement candidate, but he’s not sure what he will do.
“It’s a messed up situation, but at the same time … everything happens for a reason,” he said.
