Recount confirms Suzanne Andresen’s narrow win in House District 49

A recount on Thursday confirmed Suzanne Andresen of West Bath as the Republican nominee in Maine House District 49, preserving her narrow 608-602 edge over Nicolas Hamlin. The original count had shown Andresen ahead 609-601, so the hand count changed the totals but not the outcome.

The result matters across Arrowsic, Georgetown, Phippsburg, West Bath and Woolwich, the five-town district that will now head into the general election with its ballot set. Andresen will face Democrat Trent Vellella in November for the seat now held by Democrat Allison Hepler, who did not seek reelection.

Hepler represents the same Sagadahoc County towns and currently chairs the Maine House Marine Resources Committee while serving on the Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee. Her term runs through Dec. 1, 2026, which means the district’s next representative will inherit a seat shaped by coastal and rural concerns that cut across all five towns.

House District 49 has become one of the clearest examples in Sagadahoc County of how close modern legislative races can be. A six-vote margin in a district this compact leaves little room for doubt about how closely divided local voters are, especially in a primary where every ballot carried obvious weight. For West Bath voters, the recount also fixed the practical question of which Republican will carry the party banner into a district where local issues often travel quickly from town meeting halls to Augusta.

Those issues are likely to include schools, road maintenance, housing costs and access to local services, all of them familiar pressure points in coastal communities like West Bath and Woolwich. The district also brings together inland and waterfront interests, which means the next campaign will have to speak to property taxes, land use, transportation and the demands placed on small-town budgets.

Maine’s Secretary of State says the elections division supervises recounts in contested races, and in non-ranked-choice contests any candidate other than the apparent winner must file a written recount request within five business days after the election. The June 9 primary settled the nominations for all 151 Maine House districts, and House District 49 now moves on to the general election with no uncertainty about the Republican line. State representatives earn $45,000 during their two-year terms.