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Wife Beats Husband In Local Maine Election

The election Tuesday for Ward 1 warden in Waterville, Maine, might have had as much to say about marital politics as partisan politics.

Democrat Jennifer Johnson beat out her husband, Republican David Johnson, by a margin of 127-76 votes.

The unusual nature of the otherwise local race attracted national attention. But there don't appear to be any hard feelings over the results.

The Associated Press says that the two, who are parents of three and have been married for about 10 years, were nominated by their respective parties in August and decided to run against each other "to show the importance of public service and to show that Democrats and Republicans can get along."

Even so, The Portland Press Herald reports that:

"The couple quibble over fiscal issues; he is a fiscal conservative, she is more lenient in that respect. A stay-at-home mother who volunteers at George J. Mitchell School, where two of their children are enrolled, Jennifer, 36, says more money should be spent on education.

"David, 32, a lead solution architect for Oxford Networks who works 50 or 60 hours a week, supports education but says there are creative ways to keep costs down, such as through volunteerism."

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Scott Neuman is a reporter and editor, working mainly on breaking news for NPR's digital and radio platforms.