AUGUSTA -- Julie O'Brien is reassessing her political future after a loss Tuesday in a House of Representatives race that has left her feeling disillusioned about politics.

O'Brien, executive director the Maine Republican Party, lost in her bid to return to the Legislature against first-time candidate Democrat Anna Blodgett, former director of Augusta's parks department, who won a House seat from Augusta.

Vote totals show Blodgett won with 2,299 votes, compared to 1,962 for O'Brien.

Of her six races for the Legislature, O'Brien said this was the most negative.

She said a complaint filed with the state ethics commission by the Maine Democratic Party one week before the election was a tactic to make her look bad in a close race.

The party alleged that because O'Brien is executive director of the GOP, she must have known about independent expenditures made on her behalf. If that had proved true, she would have had a conflict of interest.

The Democrats withdrew their complaint days later, however, after the ethics commission told them to work it out with the Republicans.

"This is why it particularly stings," she said. "It was an attack on my character. The way I feel now, I probably will get out of politics all together."

Maine Democratic Party spokeswoman Rebecca Pollard said the party didn't wait intentionally until just before the election to file the complaint. It filed the complaint as soon as Democratic officials learned of campaign finance reports that disclosed the expenditures.

"There's nothing sinister about the timing," she said. "There's nothing personal about Julie at all."

O'Brien said she knew her race against Blodgett was going to be close.

"She did work very hard," she said. "Anna is very honorable, and she's a very nice woman and very credible candidate."

O'Brien said she can't blame her loss solely on the complaint, but she believes it was a factor. On Election Day, O'Brien said, many people approached her at the polls and mentioned the complaint. Those who spoke to her said they didn't believe the allegations.

She wonders about others who saw it and didn't know what to think.

"When the ethics complaint first came out, I didn't think it would make much difference; but people did read it," she said. "I think it did have a pretty big effect."

Blodgett said she had nothing to do with the complaint.

"For three months, I did my doors, and I visited 98 percent of the doors in the district," she said. "I didn't involve myself in (the complaint). She did get a chance for a rebuttal. I think it was a fair question to ask."

After discussions between Democratic and Republican lawyers, the Democrats withdrew the complaint, Pollard said. "We maintain it was still a valid concern," she said. "We dropped the complaint because we felt enough of our concerns had been allayed."

O'Brien said she plans to step down from her position as GOP executive director early next year. She is unsure about whether she would run for office again.

"All of my campaigns, despite the urging of political insiders who would want me to do otherwise, I have never resorted to politics such as this," she said.

Susan Cover -- 620-7015

scover@centralmaine.com