AUBURN — Republican challenger Jason Levesque, who lost his bid for the 2nd District U.S. House seat to incumbent Mike Michaud, said Wednesday he’s not done with politics.

“It’s premature to talk about future plans,” Levesque said. He did not rule out another bid for office, saying, “I am not done working for the people.”

Conceding he lost the race, Levesque, of Auburn, congratulated Michaud. Levesque said he was happy with his campaign.

“I would have liked to have won,” he said. “That aside, the fact that I, just a regular citizen,” launched a campaign that “went from nothing to 45 percent of the vote. That’s a lot. I’m very happy and proud of the support from my family, friends and thousands of Mainers who voted for me.”

Levesque lost to Michaud in Lewiston and Auburn. Auburn voters gave Michaud 4,851 votes to Levesque’s 4,100. Regionally, Levesque did better in rural areas, winning in Greene, Lisbon, Mechanic Falls, Minot, Sabattus and Turner. Michaud picked up Farmington, Jay, Poland, Rumford, Norway and Bethel.

The CEO of Argo Marketing Group, a direct-marketing firm in Auburn, Levesque is a graduate of Edward Little High School and a U.S. Army veteran. This was his first run for office. He ran a feisty campaign, but had his driver’s license suspended for driving too fast too many times during his run.

He plans to take a couple of days off. Maybe his family will take the RV on the road. Then, he said, he’ll monitor those in office. “I’m going to hold our elected officials accountable for their actions or inactions.”

This election “put Mike Michaud on notice,” Levesque said. “We’re going to hold him accountable for everything he does and doesn’t do in Washington.”

The overall election, with Republicans winning the Blaine House and both the House and Senate in Augusta, “sends a clear message that Mainers need jobs and good representation, and the same-old, same-old is not going to cut it,” Levesque said.

Michaud, a former paper mill worker and state legislator from Millinocket, bucked a national trend of angry voters ousting Democrats.

After being declared the winner Tuesday night, Michaud said he was pleased, that he heard praise from voters for not running a negative campaign. Levesque tried to distort his record with “talking points he was receiving from Washington, D.C.,” Michaud said.

Should Levesque seek office again, he will have name recognition, Bates history professor emeritus and Republican activist Douglas Hodgkin said Wednesday.

It’s common for politicians to lose the first run for office and go on to win others, Hodgkin said. “He may not want to run against Michaud again, but who knows what office” he might seek.

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