Sam Spencer

The new Democratic National Committee will take be seated Friday, and will include one new face from Maine.

At the state convention in June, Maggie Allen of Madison was elected to replace Jennifer DeChant of Bath, as Maine’s National Committeewoman. DeChant had decided not to run.

Each state has a National Committeeman and Committeewoman, who serve as liaisons between the state and national committee and work to secure national resources for the state. Committeeman Sam Spencer, who has served since 2004, was reelected.

DENVER -- Members of the Maine delegation are being interviewed by the 16-year-old son of one of the delegates.

This is the second convention Jill Duson, a Barack Obama delegate from Portland, has taken her son Nathan Davis to a national convention.

Davis is videotaping all the events for an independent study school project. He has interviewed several of the delegates and staff, including national committeeman Sam Spencer and Jane Lincoln, Gov. John Baldacci’s Chief of Staff.

Maine Democratic National Committeeman Sam Spencer endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for President this evening, and said he will strongly urge a shared ticket with Hillary Clinton as his Vice President.

“While it is clear that Senator Obama has won the nomination, it is also clear that the election is close to being a virtual tie. I call on other delegates to the national convention who agree with me that an Obama/Clinton ticket is our best path forward, including pledged delegates to both candidates, committed superdelegates, and superdelegates who are still uncommitted, to make similar statements,” Spencer said in a statement.

Two candidates are vying for the state’s Democratic National Committeewoman post, who will be selected by state delegates at the Democratic State Convention this weekend.

Rita Moran chairs the Kennebec County Democrats and is a member of the state committee. She was originally elected committeewoman for the current term, but ousted after the state committee determined the vote to elect her was unfair. Jennifer DeChant of Bath had held the position before, and won her seat back. Moran is a second generation party organizer.

Maggie Allen of Madison is also seeking the seat. She is a former executive director of the Maine Democratic Party, and was a Regional Field Director for the Kerry/Edwards coordinated campaign in 2004. She is working on a doctorate degree in public policy from the University of Maine at Orono.

Maine’s Democratic National Committeeman Sam Spencer is still on the fence regarding his superdelegate status, and he wants to hear from Maine on the issue.

“As an uncommitted 'superdelegate,' my life has been turned upside down with calls from the candidates, their surrogates, and Maine Democrats urging me in every possible direction. For a number of reasons, I have decided to stay uncommitted thus far,” Spencer writes on his Web site.

He has started an open discussion on SamSpencer.org for Democrats. He wants input on the following topics:

U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud endorsed John Edwards early in the presidential campaign.

When Edwards dropped out, Michaud entered vast realm of “uncommitted superdelegates”, the subject of virtually every pundit debate and a buzz word in political circles.

Following Edwards’ endorsement of Barack Obama, Michaud has decided to remain uncommitted.

U.S. Rep. Tom Allen endorsed Obama on Monday, helping to put him in the lead with superdelegates.