NORWAY — Republican Tom Winsor of Norway didn’t waste any time getting his political signs off the streets Tuesday night, even as he waited to learn whether he or Democrat Russell Newcomb would be the next state representative for House District 95.

“I’m just hopeful and just glad it’s over,” said Winsor, a 66-year-old married father of three and grandfather of two, about 10:30 p.m. He was removing a large sign from his pickup truck so he could go to area towns and pick up his political signs.

With only the town of Norway reporting an unofficial count of 1,170 for Winsor and 1,120 for Newcomb, Winsor said he wasn’t ready to say he had won, but he was hopeful.

“Historically I always win by a little in Norway but my major strength is in the smaller towns,” he said of West Paris, part of Greenwood and Waterford, the district’s other town. “You don’t really know. It’s too early, too close to make a prediction.”

Russell Newcomb, the 54-year-old owner of an auto repair and snow plowing business in Norway, also said he felt it was too close to call Tuesday evening.

The 10-year member of the Board of Selectmen campaigned on a platform of looking after the interests of residents and small business owners, finding ways to make living in this region affordable and examining every budget to look for ways to save money.

Newcomb, who is married and the father of two adult children and grandfather of two grandsons, said earlier in the evening that he believed the town of Waterford could sway the election.

Winsor called Newcomb a good candidate. “Both of us were positive about ourselves. We didn’t criticize our competition,” he said.

During his campaign, Winsor said he wanted to deal with issues such as the aging state with fewer workers and growing needs, the unfunded Maine pension plan liabilities and rising health care costs among other issues.

Final results were not expected to be in until early Wednesday morning.

ldixon@sunjournal.com

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