LEWISTON – The Maine Supreme Judicial Court denied an appeal filed by Green independent Pat LaMarche over outside advertising in the gubernatorial race.

In a ruling Thursday, the court affirmed a decision by the state’s ethics commission that denied matching money to LaMarche and independent Barbara Merrill for television ads run by the Republican Governors Association and the Maine Democratic Party.

The ads were meant to benefit Democratic Gov. John Baldacci or Republican Chandler Woodcock.

Woodcock, LaMarche and Merrill are running publicly financed campaigns, which entitles them to matching money when outside groups advertise on behalf of their opponents. Because the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices ruled that the advertisements were not “express advocacy,” LaMarche and Merrill received no extra money.

“The people of Maine clearly had one intent with the Maine Clean Election Act, and the politicians distorted that beyond recognition,” LaMarche said Thursday.

The Maine Clean Election Act says that ads run more than 21 days before an election are express advocacy unless they specifically advocate for the election or defeat of a particular candidate. The RGA and Democratic Party ads clearly supported Baldacci and Woodcock, but they did not contain words like “vote for” or “defeat” that would have made them express advocacy.

Within 21 days of an election, any advertisement that names a candidate is considered direct advocacy.

According to the court’s decision, the ethics commission acted within its authority and decided with a 4-1 vote that the ads at issue did not constitute express advocacy. A Superior Court decision backed the commission before the case was appealed to the Supreme Judicial Court.

“The Commission then concluded that it was obligated to interpret its rule narrowly to be consistent with the statute and encompass only express advocacy,” the court’s opinion states. “On this record, the Commission’s decision represents a reasonable interpretation of the applicable law, and the Commission did not exceed the bounds of its discretion.”

LaMarche said she wasn’t surprised by the court’s ruling.

“The good news is that we’ve exhausted the judicial process,” LaMarche said. “Now we need to go through the legislative branch to get the law rewritten.”

Woodcock, LaMarche and Merrill initially qualified for $400,000 to run their general election campaigns as publicly financed candidates. Baldacci is seeking re-election as a privately funded candidate.

For every dollar raised or spent by Baldacci more than $404,000, the other three were entitled to matching money. They are also entitled to receive matching money for spending by third parties not directly connected to any of the campaigns.

As of Tuesday, Woodcock had received about $1.1 million for his campaign. LaMarche and Merrill had received about $880,000. The maximum they can receive for the campaign is $1.2 million.