LEWISTON — Jason Levesque, the Republican challenger running for the 2nd Congressional District, had his driver's license suspended this week, the result of three speeding convictions over the past 11 months.

Two speeding violations occurred on consecutive days in September, resulting in 12 points on Levesque's driving record. Levesque, 36, of Auburn has 16 points on his license, according to state driving records.

Secretary of State Matt Dunlap said the accumulation of 12 or more points during a one-month period can result in a license suspension.

"It's sort of a shot across the bow to get your act together," Dunlap said.

According to state records, Levesque's suspension ends Nov. 6, four days after Election Day.

A 10-year check of Levesque's driving record shows he has 11 driving convictions since 2000, including five for speeding. Since being issued a license in 1991, he has 18 convictions, including nine for speeding.

His license has been suspended three times.

His three most recent convictions occurred Sept. 17, for driving 82 mph in a 65-mph zone; on Sept. 16, for driving 84 mph in a 65-mph zone; and Nov. 10, 2009, for driving 79 mph in a 65-mph zone.

Levesque declined to elaborate on speeding tickets he received Sept. 16 and 17. The campaign schedule posted on his website doesn't show any events on those days.

Levesque said his driving record was irrelevant.

"Obviously, I'm not a great driver," Levesque said. "I've made some mistakes; I've gotten some tickets. That's not what this race is about."

Levesque also has two convictions for operating an unregistered vehicle, four convictions for failing to display a valid inspection sticker and another for violating the state seat belt law.

A vehicle registered to Levesque was involved in an accident on June 6, 2004.

According to the Maine State Police accident report, Emily Spatt, then of Portland, was driving Levesque's vehicle on I-95 in York when it was involved in a two-car accident. Spatt, then 25, was driving with a suspended license.

Levesque was not involved in the crash.

Levesque is challenging U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, D-Maine, for the 2nd Congressional District seat.

A check of Michaud's record shows no convictions and one accident since 1982. His license has negative two points.

Each driving infraction results in points being added to a driving record and each year a driver goes without a violation a point is removed to a maximum of negative four points. Good driving can result in a maximum of four negative points.

When told that the Sun Journal's review of Michaud's record showed no convictions, Levesque responded, "He's probably had a driver for the last eight years."

Greg Olsen, Michaud's campaign manager, said the congressman doesn't have a driver.

Levesque said he didn't think voters would care about his driving record.

"This isn't what Mainers are talking about," he said.

"Mike Michaud can't run on his record or my driving infractions, not when people are struggling so much," Levesque said. "This is not what this race is about. I'm not a good driver and I'm human."

The Critical Insights poll for MaineToday Media released Sept. 29 had Michaud with a 44-32 lead over Levesque, with 24 percent of respondents undecided. The survey showed Levesque gaining ground after a Sept. 9 poll had him trailing Michaud by 20 points.

The Sun Journal has examined the driving records of the five gubernatorial candidates. A Sept. 29 story showed that several candidates had what Dunlap described as "fairly pedestrian" conviction records, except for independent Kevin Scott, who has 35 violations, including five for speeding.

smistler@sunjournal.com