Incumbent state Sen. Jill Duson cruised to an easy victory with 90% of the vote in Tuesday’s Democratic primary for the District 27 seat representing parts of Portland and Westbrook.
State Sen. Jill Duson Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer
With 99% of votes counted, Duson received 1,730 votes, while challenger Kenneth Capron got 199 votes in a rematch of their 2022 contest. Both live in Portland.
Duson will take on Republican Dale Holman, also of Portland, in November. Duson is expected to keep her seat in a district where Democrats vastly outnumber Republicans.
Duson, 70, served more than two decades in elected office in Portland, including six terms on the City Council and stints as a compliance director and a member of the Human Rights Commission.
As a senator, Duson served on the powerful Government Oversight Committee and Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee. She pushed for additional funding for affordable housing and General Assistance, and to dredge Portland Harbor and upgrade waterfront infrastructure. She wanted to continue working for a flavored tobacco ban and to fund services for victims of sexual assault, she said.
Capron, 73, is an accountant, systems analyst and financial fraud investigator. He has run unsuccessfully as a Republican, independent and Democrat for various local and state offices, often suggesting unconventional solutions to issues, such as docking a cruise ship in Portland Harbor to use as housing and installing a micro rail system in Portland for public transportation. He also wanted to address the workforce shortage and to bring fiscal restraint to the Legislature, he said.
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