Free publicity is the lifeblood of political campaigns. So with six Democrats and two Republicans vying for the open seat in Maine's First Congressional District, even relatively mundane developments are cause for a press release.

Consider some of the e-mails that have gone out in the last two weeks, as the candidates file signatures with the state in order to get their names on the ballot for the June 10 primary.

* Feb. 27: "Ethan Strimling, Democratic candidate for Congress in the First District, will brave the elements today to become the first candidate in a crowded field to turn in the required number of signatures to appear on the June Primary ballot."

* March 10: "Democratic congressional candidate and former State Senate Majority Leader Michael Brennan last week submitted 1,368 verified signatures of registered Democrats to the Maine Secretary of State, over 30 percent more than he needed to qualify for the ballot."

* Today: "Republican Congressional Candidate Dean Scontras surprised Statehouse officials today by delivering over 2,000 petition signatures collected by his campaign supporters.  Scontras turned in well over the required 1,000 signatures ..."

Hype aside, this is the bottom line: seven of the eight campaigns have filed the necessary signatures. The one remaining campaign, Democrat Adam Cote's, expects to file signatures on Friday.

The deadline is Monday, which is followed by a week-long period during which challenges to signatures can be filed.

– Kevin Wack

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