If you think your vote doesn't count, think again. GOP State Rep. Lucas Lanigan in Maine, who turned himself in over domestic violence last month days before the election, won re-election by a single vote after a recount on Thursday.
Lanigan was charged with domestic violence aggravated assault and accused of choking his wife after she confronted him about an alleged affair. He sounds like a peach of a guy! Again, he won by one vote. Democrats called for him to step down (see the video above) over the crime, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.
However, even though his wife was taken to the hospital with bruises on both sides of her neck consistent with strangulation, the top Republican in the state house, Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham, said that he wanted to let the legal system run its course, saying that Lanigan has "due process."
NBC News reports:
His race against Democratic challenger Patty Kidder for a state House seat representing part of Southern Maine initially ended in an apparent tie.
After a hand recount, the secretary of state's office said Thursday that Lanigan had received 2,478 votes to Kidder’s 2,477, putting him over the top by a single vote.
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On Facebook, two days after the election, Lanigan said he was fighting these "ridiculous charges." "I have thick skin but for my family enough is enough," he wrote.
Oh, and the wife changed her story a little bit:
Lanigan’s wife later asked that the charges be dropped, saying she did not think he intended to hurt her. But prosecutors are continuing to pursue the case, saying domestic violence victims sometimes recant under pressure from abusers, according to WCSH.
Bruises don't lie, but domestic violence victims sometimes side with the abuser while under pressure. Catalina Lanigan found her husband at a Springvale Safe Storage unit with another woman, according to the Portland Press Herald. He sounds like a perfect fit for the incoming administration.
