GOPer Re-Elected by One Vote After Accused of Choking His Wife

If you think your vote won’t count, think again. GOP State Rep. Lucas Lanigan of Maine, who turned himself in for domestic violence days before the election last month, was re-elected by a single vote after a recount on Thursday.

Lanigan was charged with domestic violence and aggravated assault, and was accused of strangling his wife after confronting her about an alleged affair. He looks like a peachy guy! He won again by one vote. Democrats called on him to resign over the crime, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine (see video above).

But even though his wife was hospitalized with bruises on both sides of her neck consistent with strangulation, Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham, the state House’s top Republican, said: he said this He wanted to let the legal system take its course, saying Lanigan had “due process.”

NBC News reports:

Her race against Democratic challenger Patty Kidder for the State House seat representing part of southern Maine initially ended in an apparent tie.

After the recount, the secretary of state said Thursday that Lanigan received 2,478 votes to Kidder’s 2,477, putting him over the top by a single vote.

…

Lanigan said on Facebook two days after the election that he was fighting these “ridiculous accusations.” “I have thick skin, but that’s enough for my family,” he wrote.

And his wife changed her story a little:

Lanigan’s wife later asked for the charges to be dropped, saying she didn’t think he intended to harm her. But prosecutors continue to pursue the case, saying domestic violence victims sometimes give up under pressure from their abusers, according to WCSH.

Bruises don’t lie, but domestic violence victims sometimes side with their abuser when under pressure. Catalina Lanigan found her husband with another woman at the Springvale Secure Storage unit. Portland Press Reporter. He seems like a great fit for the new administration.