AUGUSTA – Sounding bipartisan and cooperative themes, members of the 123rd Legislature were sworn into office Wednesday during ceremonies in the State House.

In a gesture that reached across the aisle, Republicans endorsed the election of Senate President Beth Edmonds of Freeport and Speaker of the House Glenn Cummings of Portland, both Democrats.

The outcome of the elections was never in question, but the outreach by Republicans showed a willingness to leave any bitterness of the campaign season in the past.

In seconding the nomination of Cummings as speaker, Republican House Leader Josh Tardy of Newport praised the Democrat as a friend and colleague.

“The members of the Republican caucus stand ready to focus on the good that can be accomplished together,” Tardy said. “The Republican caucus is entrusting him to lead the institution with fairness.”

“It was symbolic,” said new state Rep. Michael Beaulieu of Auburn. “It says a lot that the Republican leader seconded the nomination of Speaker Cummings. It’s an important step toward working together.”

Democratic state Rep. Margaret Craven of Lewiston agreed.

“The first thing you learn up here is how to count votes,” Craven said, referring to the numerical advantage that guaranteed the Democratic nominees would be elected as the Legislature’s presiding officers. “Everyone here is committed to working on creating a more prosperous state.”

In their inaugural addresses, Cummings and Edmonds also talked of the importance of cooperation

Cummings, in a speech steeped in historical references, encouraged Democrats and Republicans alike to remember each party’s core values, as demonstrated by Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

“(Lincoln) was perhaps the greatest Republican in the landscape of American politics. He reminds us of the core Republican principle: that there is no power greater than an honest man determined to improve himself, that one individual committed to betterment is the embodiment of the American dream.”

Cummings also spoke of Roosevelt, his fight against the Nazis and his struggle with polio, which robbed him of his legs.

“Of all that he had in life, and he had much, he would later say it may have been his polio that brought him the most,” Cummings said. “It delivered to him true compassion, a sense of deep community and a commitment to others. These are the core values of the Democratic Party.”

A similar scenario played out in the Senate.

“We took an oath to say we all have one common purpose and one common goal,” said Republican Leader Carol Weston of Montville. “The voters have set the foundation of a bipartisan Senate.”

Edmonds also put out the call for cooperation during her speech.

“As I enter into my second and final term as Senate president, I again, challenge all of us to find and nurture the seeds we can grow from the common ground between us,” Edmonds said. “Working with the executive branch, we can move Maine forward when we work together.”

Eighty-nine Democrats, 60 Republicans and two independents were seated in the House. Eighteen Democrats and 17 Republicans took their posts in the Senate.

Two House seats remain in dispute. State Rep. Michael Shaw of Standish and state Rep. Patricia Sutherland of Chapman were provisionally seated, pending action by the House Election Committee. Shaw and Sutherland both led in their races on election night, but after recounts the outcomes remain in dispute.

In a joint conference between the Senate and the House Wednesday afternoon, Democrats re-elected Matthew Dunlap as secretary of state, David Lemoine as state treasurer and Steven Rowe as attorney general.