Democrats have narrow control of the state Senate – Republicans
need just 2 seats to take control – and an even narrower hold of the
state House:

 House
membership by party is about as close as it could be, heading into the November
elections. No party has a majority as seats are held by 74 Democrats, 73
Republicans, 1 Green Independent and 3 unenrolled or independent members, along
with the two nonvoting members representing the Penobscot Nation and the
Passamaquoddy Tribe.

Republican
candidates for the Maine House of Representatives, in a biennial rite of
autumn, gathered at the State House on Thursday to assert that it is time to
change the balance of power in the 151-member House chamber…

Current
leaders of the minority GOP caucus cast the economy as this fall's top issue.

“The
state government's role is simple,” said the outgoing House Republican
leader, David Bowles of Sanford, in a prepared statement. “We are to
provide an atmosphere in which our economy can grow and prosper. We do this by
keeping state policies of taxation and regulation competitive with other
states, particularly our nearest neighbors.”