BANGOR – Republicans and Democrats alike descended on the state’s northern congressional district Monday, hoping to nail down every possible Electoral College vote in what many predict could be one of the closest elections in history.

U.S. Rep. Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., stumping for Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry in Bangor, raised the possibility, albeit a remote one, of voters in the 2nd Congressional District deciding the election.

“The whole thing may come down to this one vote,” Gephardt told the 150 or so people who came to the rally in a blustery Pickering Square. “I don’t want to lay a trip on you or anything, but the future of western civilization is in your hands.”

Indeed, The Washington Post found 33 scenarios in which the race between President Bush and John Kerry could end in an Electoral College tie, thus increasing the significance of otherwise minor occurrences, including how the closely divided 2nd District awards its one electoral vote.

The Post cites an example in which President Bush takes New Hampshire, Ohio and Wisconsin, Kerry gets Florida, Minnesota and New Mexico, and the other 44 states follow recent trends. Under those circumstances, Kerry would win the election with 270 votes, unless Maine’s 2nd District breaks with the rest of the state, which appears solidly in Kerry’s column, and votes for Bush.

Maine, like only one other state, does not award all four of its electoral votes to the winner of the statewide popular vote.

Two are awarded to the statewide winner, while each congressional district awards its winner one electoral vote.

While Gephardt’s scenario isn’t likely to come to fruition, it does exemplify the significance of the northern district in this year’s presidential race. Both campaigns have spent significant time and money in the district, which on Monday also hosted U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., who appeared in Lewiston to stump for Kerry.

The Monday arrival of the two prominent Democrats quickly drew fire from Republicans, who called it fitting that “the twin pillars of tax-and-spend liberalism” would campaign for Kerry, “who is truly one of their own.”

“If these two lawmakers speak for John Kerry, Maine’s working families better hold on to their wallets,” said Dwayne Bickford, executive director of the Maine Republican Party.

At his Bangor stop, Gephardt struck some of the campaign’s harshest tones thus far, saying Bush was “by far the worst” president he has seen in Washington. He faulted the Bush administration for, among other things, presiding over the loss of more than 17,000 manufacturing jobs in the state and supporting unfair trade agreements.

“He has done everything wrong,” said Gephardt, whose comments echoed off the buildings around Pickering Square, sending airborne a group of otherwise content pigeons. “He has made everything a mess. He has got to go.”

Bickford was equally critical of a potential Kerry presidency, saying the Democrat’s proposals were “a recipe for slowing down the economy and piling a record burden of debt on our children and grandchildren.”

Gephardt also took some time to urge voters to re-elect U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud to his seat representing the 2nd District. Going into Election Day, polls suggest Michaud holds a sizable lead in the race against Republican Brian Hamel.

But Hamel, who campaigned in Auburn and Bangor with U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, respectively, promised a tight race, buoyed by polls showing him pulling closer to Michaud in the campaign’s final days.

Leading up to today’s vote, Maine election officials prepared for a heavy turnout, and scores of lawyers were ready to assist in the event of polling problems.

“Everything is in place for a record-setting turnout,” Secretary of State Dan Gwadosky told reporters in Augusta.

Two ballot initiatives, one to limit bear hunting and the other to cap property taxes, also generated plenty of interest and were expected to draw even more voters to the polls on Tuesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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