Congressman Mike Michaud is going to be under the spotlight this weekend. The representative for Maine's second congressional district is one of a handful of House democrats still undecided ahead of Sunday's crucial healthcare vote.

While Mike Michaud himself could not be reached for comment today, the word from his camp was that he was still reviewing details of the president's $940 billion healthcare bill.

Michaud voted in favor of the House bill back in November but significant changes have been made since then. In a written statement issued today, Michaud said he was "continuing to assess the impacts on Maine businesses, providers and consumers. This is one of the most signicifant issues that Congress will consider, and I want to give it the serious consideration that it deserves."

While Michaud has not publicly declared yet which way he'll vote, one political opponent seems pretty sure he knows how things will go on Sunday.

"All indications show right now with the whip report on the Hill and through roll-call that he's a likely 'Yes,'" says Jason Levesque, the presumptive GOP challenger for Michaud's house seat later this year. "He has not come out and said, 'No this is a bad bill,' which he should be, which a majority of his constitutents have been calling him and asking him to do. So, yes, he's still 'undecided' officially, but then again, every indication shows that he's going to support this bill, which is not in the best interests of Mainers."

Yesterday, Michaud was one of 28 Democrats who voted against the so-called 'deem to pass' measure which effectively ensures that the healthcare bill will make it through the Senate if it gets a Yes vote on Sunday.

Deem-to-pass, also known as the Slaughter solution - after the congresswoman who proposed the latest measure - will enable the healthcare bill to pass the Senate without having to acquire the usual 60 votes needed for a filibuster-proof majority.

Michaud says he voted against the Slaughter measure because he feels it's more "honest and transparent" to do so. Others have suggested more cynical motives, implying the vote is a way for Michaud to cover all bases and show he's not a slave to the party line.

USM Political science professor Ron Schmidt says both arguments make sense. "I think he's going to want to be looking forward to the general election with the ability to argue that he's not just doing whatever speaker Pelosi wants him to do, that he can break with the party and that vote could be helpful there. But I think he also might be trying to make a substantive argument about process."

Michaud has reasons to support the health care bill, says Schmidt, but does not want to do it in a way which some perceive as underhanded. "At the very least he wants to be able to point to a particular kind of process of healthcare going forward and say he adhered to that. I think he's going to want to be able to tell his constiuents that whatever vote he made, he made it in good conscience."

Indeed many of Michaud's constituents are not what you might call typical Democrats, says professor Mark Brewer. "Congressman Michaud represents a district that is not as universally left-of-center or liberal as maybe, say, someone like a speaker Pelosi."

Brewer teaches politics at the University of Maine in Orono, which is situated firmly in Michaud's sprawling, and overwhelmingly rural, congressional district.

"He represents a district that has a fairly high percentage of voters who would be seen as more conservative on the ideological spectrum, especially on social issues," Brewer says. "He also has a fair number of constituents who could also maybe see themselves as conservatives on fiscal issues. Whereas maybe your more more typical House Democrat has far fewer of those constituents. And certainly on a bill like the healthcare bill, that's something that Congressman Michaud has to take into account."

Michaud's opponents are urging him to oppose the healthcare bill on the grounds that it's too big, too risky and too expensive, and as a member of the so-called Blue Dog Coalition of fiscally conservative Democrats, Michaud has always been acutely aware of the cost of president Obama's sweeping healthcare overhaul.

Some observers say that a report issued yesterday by the Congressional Budget Office however, may sway Michaud, and other as-yet undeclared democrats, towards a Yes vote. The report concludes that the proposed healthcare bill would actually reduce the deficit by $138 billion over the next decade, and by $1.2 trillion over the following ten years.

USM Professor Ron Schmidt says the CBO report gives Michaud more room to maneuver ahead of the final vote. "I think for a Democrat who's a little bit concerned about conservative constituents, it was good news. I think also for a representative who's invested in the process, it was good news.

President Barak Obama plans to meet with Democratic lawmakers at the White House tomorrow in an effort to muster the 216 votes needed to pass the bill.