Recount confirms winner of Democratic primary for Maine Senate seat

AUGUSTA, Maine — A recount confirmed Thursday that former state Rep. Denise Tepler won the Democratic primary for an open Maine Senate seat covering the Bath area.

Tepler beat former Sagadahoc County Register of Probate Jean Guzzetti by 25 votes, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ office said Thursday following a recount that Guzzetti requested after preliminary results from last week’s primary had Tepler ahead by 22 votes.

That difference of 0.5 percentage points was within the 1.5-percentage-point threshold established by state law that allows candidates to request a recount at the public’s expense. It was one of the closer margins in recent years, although a Republican primary for a Maine House seat in the Rangeley area was decided by five votes after the 2022 election.

Tepler and Guzzetti competed in the June 11 primary for the Senate District 24 seat that covers Sagadahoc County and the Lincoln County town of Dresden. Senate Majority Leader Eloise Vitelli, D-Arrowsic, was termed out from the seat in a former swing district held by Democrats in recent years. Tepler served four terms in the House, hitting term limits two years ago.

In November, Tepler will face former state Rep. Jeff Pierce, R-Dresden, who lost that seat in 2018 after Democrats brought to light his felony drug conviction from the 1980s.