Maine Clean Election candidates successful

AUGUSTA, Maine -- Legislative candidates using Clean Election funds won 10 out of 14 times in those primary races for open seats in which a Clean Election candidate competed against a privately funded office-seeker, according to the Maine Citizen Leadership Fund.

Of all 308 Clean Election candidates, 91 percent won on Election Day, the advocacy group said.

Participation in the Clean Election program, in which candidates receive public financing and agree to spending limits, was up in both Senate and House races. In the Senate, 78 percent were Clean Election candidates, compared to 61 percent in 2002.

In the House, 70 percent of all candidates participated in the optional public financing program, compared to 52 percent in 2002, the organization said. According to the advocacy group, Democrats are more likely than Republicans to sign up for public financing.