Talk about horrible timing … PolitickerME has been out with a nasty flu for the past few days.

Here’s a quick rundown on what’s been going on in the days leading up the primary.

Monday, June 2:

-Adam Cote’s campaign has emerged as a major contender. In an e-mail, the Cote campaign quotes a ‘(Chellie) Pingree staffer’: "So, the race is coming down to the wire. My take is that Adam is closing and it comes down to Adam vs. Chellie."

The Cote campaign attacked Pingree for her support of impeachment. Staff writes in an e-mail: “The issue that will define the last week of this campaign is whether or not you and your friends and neighbors want your representative in Congress to focus on impeaching President Bush and Vice President Cheney as their first act next January – or would rather that they focus on dealing with reducing energy costs and the improving the economy.”

-Republican Dean Scontras was endorsed by Jim Gilchrist, founder of the Minuteman Project, a group focused on immigration reform. "I'm proud to accept Mr. Gilchrist's endorsement in the Republican Primary," said Scontras.  Border security is an issue that Maine Republicans are concerned about and that I've worked hard to do something about during this campaign,” Scontras said in a release.

-Tom Ledue, a Democrat challenging U.S. Rep. Tom Allen for a Senate bid, has sent out daily e-mails. The campaign writes: “You can elect new energy and a new person in Washington - Tom Ledue, Democrat for U.S. Senate.”

Tuesday, June 3

-The Ledue campaign released the text of Ledue’s  convention speech.

-The International Association of Firefighters Local F-123, based at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, endorsed Mark Lawrence.

  Wednesday, June 4

-Ethan Strimling sent out a fundraising solicitation, attacking his two most threatening opponents. “Despite being outspent two-to-one by Chellie Pingree’s out-of-state hedge fund money, despite Adam Cote’s contributions from Republicans and corporate PACS, Ethan is still going strong and making waves,” writes Corey Hascall, campaign manager.

-Scontras staged an expensive publicity stunt at a gas station in Manchester, where he pumped gas for motorists and paid the $0.451 in taxes for each gallon of gas.

-Strimling released another ad focused on the need for property tax relief. Cote released an ad highlighting his endorsement from the Portland Press Herald.

-Strimling’s campaign sent out another e-mail attacking Cote for getting support from Republicans, citing the number of Republicans contributing to his campaign. “Responding to charges that he’s a Republican in disguise, Adam Cote said in an e-mail today that 61% of his in-state contributions are from Maine Democrats. But Cote’s own calculations show he greatly overestimated his Democratic support,” states a release.

Thursday June 5

-The Ledue campaign touted an endorsement from the Portland Pheonix. "He has smart ideas on education, health care, impeachment, and Iraq, and will not fade into the woodwork easily in DC.,” the endorsement states.

-State Sen. Karl Turner, R-Cumberland, switched his voter registration to Democrat for the primary. The Scontras campaign was quick to spin this as an attack against opponent Charlie Summers, who had been endorsed by Turner. An e-mail from the Scontras campaign said that the Summers campaign was losing support.

Friday, June 6

-State Sen. Jon Courtney endorsed Republican Charlie Summers.

-The Portsmouth Herald endorsed Chellie Pingree and Charlie Summers.

-The Maine Policy Board of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees endorsed Ethan Strimling.

-Another attack on the Cote campaign from the Strimling campaign, calling him a closet Republican. “But an even more critical question is this: why aren’t the other candidates in the race standing up for Democratic values?” states an e-mail.

-The Cote campaign sent out an e-mail discussing the candidate’s position in the race. They quoted a quote from the Press Herald:

“Cote's emergence as a key player in the campaign is the race's most unexpected twist, according to [Michael Franz, a government professor at Bowdoin College,] since four of his opponents entered the race with better name recognition. “I’m particularly surprised by how well Adam Cote has done, and I think he has a real chance," Franz said."

-Fourteen members of the Cote for Congress Veterans Steering Committee called for attacks on Cote’s military service to stop, calling out Strimling campaign manager Corey Hascall for her comments that Cote has “major embellishments” in his military record, she questioned the legitimacy of the Toys for Tots programs Cote worked on in Bosnia and Iraq, and that Halliburton has supported Cote’s campaign.

-The Strimling campaign responded to the above allegations. “To put it bluntly, Cote doesn’t know what he is talking about,” states a release from the campaign.

-The Lakes Region Weekly and the Pro-Life Education Association of Maine endorsed Dean Scontras.

-The Biddeford Journal Tribune and the Independent Energy Producers of Maine endorsed Adam Cote.

Monday, June 8

-U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Pa., endorsed Adam Cote. Murphy is the only Iraq War Veteran in Congress.