AUGUSTA (AP) – Legislative Democrats, who appear to have strengthened their majority control at the State House, and Republicans mired deeper in minority status have one thing in common at the top of their to-do lists: select leadership teams for the two-year session that opens on Dec. 3.

Caucus elections begin next week.

Holding the reins in both the Senate and House of Representatives, incoming Democratic lawmakers are expected to put Senate Majority Leader Elizabeth Mitchell of Vassalboro in as Senate president and House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree of North Haven in as speaker of the House.

Mitchell and Pingree would replace the current presiding officers who are termed-out, Democratic Senate President Beth Edmonds of Freeport and Democratic House Speaker Glenn Cummings of Portland.

“We protected our majority and we also defeated two Republican incumbents,” said Democratic Senate Majority Leader Elizabeth Mitchell, the former House speaker from Vassalboro who is in line to become president of the new Senate.

The two Republican incumbents whose survival hopes may depend on recount reversals are Lois Snowe-Mello of Poland and Paula Benoit of Phippsburg.

In the House, incumbents who apparently lost include one Democrat – Timothy Carter of Bethel – and seven Republicans – Donna Wallace Finley of Skowhegan, Bonnie Gould of South Berwick, Donald Marean of Hollis, John McDonough of Scarborough, Gary Wayne Moore of Standish, Michael Vaughan of Durham and Robert Walker of Lincolnville.

Nationally, the National Conference of State Legislatures said voters reversed a recent trend by electing the fewest number of politically divided legislatures since 1982.

Democrats took control of the New York Senate for the first time since 1966 and now command all of New York state government for the first time since 1935, according to the NCSL, which noted that Barack Obama will be the first former member of NCSL to become president of the U.S.

Also noteworthy was voting in New Hampshire where women took a 13-11 majority in the state Senate. The NCSL said it is the first time a state legislative chamber will be composed of more women than men.

Maine lawmakers will soon cast ballots in a whole new round of elections to select presiding officers of the Senate and House of Representatives and choose an attorney general, secretary of state, state treasurer and state auditor.

Incoming legislators are sworn in on Dec. 3.

The new House is expected to be led as speaker by the current Democratic majority leader, Hannah Pingree of North Haven.

“Tuesday’s overwhelming victories for Democrats in the State House show that in these uncertain times, Maine people put their trust in Democrats to lead, and that is something we don’t take lightly,” Pingree said in a statement Wednesday.

Democrats have been on a winning streak in general elections for the House since 1974. Republicans have held the Senate outright for only one two-year period since the 1982 elections.

AP-ES-11-06-08 1439EST

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