All Returns Not In but Tsongas Still Holds Slim Lead in Maine

With all but 2% of the Maine Democratic caucus vote counted Monday, former Massachusetts Sen. Paul E. Tsongas still held a slim lead over former California Gov. Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr.

Democratic Party officials said they were trying to contact local representatives in a handful of communities in this rural state, nearly as large as the rest of New England combined, which held caucuses Sunday but failed to report their results.

They were also trying to put together a list of towns, many thought to be in sparsely populated regions of western and northern Maine, that were eligible to hold caucuses Sunday but failed to do so.

Communities that did not hold caucuses Sunday are permitted to do so within the next two weeks. More than 13,000 people attended the caucuses, or roughly 6% of the state’s registered Democrats.

Maine Democratic Party Chairwoman Jo Karr said the complete tally might not be known for at least several days. With 98% of the caucus delegates selected, Tsongas had 29.8% to Brown’s 29.2%. Tsongas’ actual lead was 20 delegates, with about 190 unaccounted for.

Delegates elected at the caucuses go to the state convention in May to choose Maine’s 23 delegates to the national convention in July. Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton ran fourth with 15.2%, trailing even the uncommitted vote of 15.9%. Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin received 5.1%, while Sen. Bob Kerrey of Nebraska won 3.1%.