Some recent news in state legislative races:

Tipping analyses Senate races

Mike Tipping, who operates the blog MainePolitics.net, began writing a weekly column for Downeast Magazine’s Web site a month ago.

For the past three weeks, he has profiled state Senate races.

• Click here for his profile of the Senate district 32 race between incumbent Sen. Joe Perry (D-Bangor) and challenger Tom Sawyer Jr. (R-Bangor).
• Click here for his profile of the S.D. 1 race between incumbent Sen. Peter Bowman (D-Kittery) and Mary Andrews (R-York).
• Click here for his profile of the S.D. 11 race, an open seat, between Gerald Davis (R-Falmouth) and Jeanne Hulit (D-Falmouth).

Damon forgoes fundraising

The Bangor Daily News reports that state Sen. Dennis Damon, D-Trenton, will forgo most fundraising in his reelection bid. Instead of giving to him, he is encouraging people to give to the People and Communities fund which helps those in need of fuel and heating assistance.

Damon does have a Political Action Committee, which had $1,985 in its coffers as of July 22, the most recent data available. He told the BDN that he hopes to raise $50,000 which will also go to charity.

Damon faces Mark Remick (R-Trenton), a Clean Elections candidate, who applauded Damon’s intitiative but blamed him and the Democrats for the current crisis. He told reporter Rich Hewitt:

“I think this is a fabulous idea and it’s good of Dennis to do it,” Remick said Thursday. “There’s no doubt about it, people are going to be slammed this winter…

“Dennis is my neighbor and a friend,” he said, “but we differ politically. If we had different policies in place, we wouldn’t be facing a crisis as monumental as we are. He is part of how we got to be in the position we’re in.”

Click here for the rest of the story.

Moore abandons reelection bid

State Rep. Gary Moore (R-Standish) has quit his race out of frustration of the Legislature’s inability to address the state’s fiscal problems, the Portland Press Herald reported last week.

"It's so discouraging," he told reporter Tom Bell. "Every year for the last six years, to be up against a financial quagmire, and nothing is done about it."

Moore’s name will still be on the ballot, as he has missed the Sept. 5 withdrawal deadline.

Click here for the rest of the story.