Back when I was putting together my list of 99, I wondered about adding either of Maine’s House races, and ultimately decided against it, at least at that moment.

Matthew Gagnon makes the case that they ought to be creeping up the scale of competitiveness, pointing to recent endorsements by Mitt Romney’s political organization, Free and Strong PAC:

Romney’s PAC threw its weight behind gubernatorial candidate Paul LePage and congressional candidates Dean Scontras and Jason Levesque.
Free and Strong is the highest profile PAC and most prolific fundraising machine of any of the 2012 candidates, and as I just said, he doesn’t exactly hand out endorsements and money to every Republican running. In fact, he has been pretty stingy overall, picking his battles across the country and trying to make the most effective use of his voice and money.
He doesn’t waste money on races that are uncompetitive, and there is a simple reason why. Romney (and any other serious contender worth their salt) is trying to build a political base that can help him later on. Thus, he is pushing for candidates who he thinks have the ability to win, because if they do win, they — now owing him a favor — are then in a position to activate their political machines on his behalf when he runs later on. . . .
The NRCC has not made either seat a top priority (though Levesque seems to be sneaking into their radar as time continues to pass), and as a result of this widespread doubt, money is very hard to come by and institutional support has been weak.
A statement of support from Romney is far less significant to the voter as it is to the machine. Romney’s blessing and statement of support should signal to insiders around the party that these two candidates are at the very worst worth a look, and at their best, potential sleepers who could actually pull something off given the right resources.
It is not — by itself — enough to open up the floodgates of money, attention and infrastructure. But it is most certainly a start that should get some attention for these candidates, and make it just a little easier to milk some PACs, political organizations, and national donors for money.

I don’t know if I’m completely convinced, but considering how badly longtime incumbents like Earl Pomeroy, Carol Shea-Porter, and Stephanie Herseth Sandlin are polling in this cycle, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to think Michael Michaud or a first-termer like Chellie Pingree might be vulnerable.