OAKLAND — Republicans in Maine’s 16th state Senate district elected Scott Cyrway as the party’s candidate for the general election this fall.

Scott Cyrway

Unofficial vote tallies showed Cyrway, a veteran state legislator, defeated challenger Mike Perkins, 1,102-925, with 54.4% of the vote compared to Perkins’ 45.6%.

The 16th district encompasses Albion, Fairfield, Oakland, Waterville and Winslow. Perkins was able to win his hometown of Oakland, 255-157, but Cyrway carried every other community in the district by large margins.

Cyrway said his top legislative priorities include defending the Second Amendment and opposing Maine Democrats’ push to expand gender-affirming healthcare in the state.

“It’s clear total Democratic control has led to a process that’s unaccountable to the people,” Cyrway said.

As the campaign shifts from the primary to the general election, Cyrway said Wednesday he will aim to focus on local issues like reducing PFAS contamination and opposing the proposed Aroostook Renewable Gateway project that would connect wind farms in Aroostook County to central Maine communities with about 160 miles of high-voltage power lines.

“I look at what’s happening in the local area,” he said Wednesday. “I don’t have much control over the national area, but I can have a say as far as what’s happening locally. That’s where my focus is.”

Cyrway was previously elected to the state Senate in 2014 and served the central Maine region until 2022, when he could no longer run for the seat due to term limits. Instead, he ran for and was elected to House District 63, representing Albion, Freedom, Unity Township and part of Winslow.

That stint in the House enables Cyrway to run again for the state Senate seat that he previously held.

Mike Perkins Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Perkins is the longtime chairman of Oakland’s town council. He previously served three terms in Maine’s House of Representatives from 2016 to 2022.

He ran in the Republican primary for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District in 2021 but dropped out after nearly dying from COVID-19.

Reached on Wednesday, Perkins said he did not have time to comment on the election’s results.

Cyrway will go on to face incumbent state Sen. David LaFountain, Waterville’s former fire chief and a Democrat from Winslow, in the Nov. 5 general election. LaFountain was elected in 2022 after defeating Perkins in the Senate District 16 race and ran unopposed in his party’s primary for the seat in Tuesday’s election.