Former Common Cause President Chellie Pingree has emerged from a crowded field of six Demcorats to take Maine’s 1st district primary to replace Rep. Tom Allen (D). With 59 percent of precincts reporting, Pingree had 43 percent of the vote, according to the Portland Press Herald. Iraq War veteran Adam Cote, a more conservative Democrat whose campaign had surged in the past few weeks, was in second place with 27 percent. The remaining four candidates split the rest of the vote. Pingree, a former state Senate Majority Leader who unsuccessfully challenged Sen. Susan Collins (R) in 2002, is now favored to replace Allen in the reliably Democratic district. In the Republican primary for the seat, 2004 GOP nominee Charlie Summers defeated businessman Dean Scontras, 60 percent to 40 percent. Allen is giving up his seat to challenge Collins in November. — Shira Toeplitz