AUGUSTA — Less than four months before Maine voters head to the polls, Independent candidate Eliot Cutler faces fundraising challenges, an incumbent Republican governor with fiercely loyal supporters and Democrats determined not to repeat the mistakes that cost them the 2010 election. But Cutler, a 67-year-old from Cape Elizabeth, says he’s confident that his campaign […]
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Analysis: Why this governor’s race is not a repeat of 2010
AUGUSTA — For more than three years, a common sight on Maine roads has been a bumper sticker that reads “61%: We did not vote for Paul LePage.” The sticker began showing up shortly after LePage took office, reinforcing the notion that he rose from private businessman to the state’s highest elected office with far […]
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How Paul LePage became Maine’s governor
AUGUSTA — For the roughly 62 percent of voters who chose someone other than Republican Paul LePage for governor on Election Day in 2010, the result was a shock. They remember a campaign full of controversy over property tax payments, threats to punch reporters and a promise that, if elected, the Waterville Republican would tell […]
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LePage clarifies position on Social Security and Medicare
AUGUSTA — In a new campaign video, Republican Gov. Paul LePage attacks his Democratic rival, U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, while clarifying and defending his position on Social Security and Medicare. Democrats recently challenged LePage for lumping the federal programs, that largely serve elderly Mainers, in with other public benefit programs that LePage considers “welfare.” In […]
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Cutler supporters’ lawsuit challenges constitutionality of Maine donation limits
AUGUSTA — Four supporters of independent Eliot Cutler’s bid for governor filed a suit Monday in U.S. District Court over what they argue are inequities in Maine campaign finance laws. The injunction asks that individual contribution limits for donations to Cutler’s campaign be the same as they are for major-party candidates — and in time […]
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‘We did not discuss execution, arrest or hanging,’ LePage says
BANGOR — In two calls Monday evening to the Bangor Daily News, Gov. Paul LePage vehemently disputed assertions made by a liberal blogger in a forthcoming book that LePage made references in 2013 to executing Maine’s speaker of the House and Senate president. “I was never in the room where ‘execute’ was used,” the governor […]
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LePage to travel to China on business trip
AUGUSTA (AP) — Maine Gov. Paul LePage will soon head to China to visit with a company regarding a potential manufacturing project in northern Maine. The Republican is scheduled to leave Maine for Beijing on June 21. His office said that he was invited by a company that’s headquartered there to discuss an investment and […]
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Cutler calls for voting reform on Maine primary day
LEWISTON — Eliot Cutler, an independent candidate for governor in Maine, was taking the opportunity Tuesday to call attention to state election laws he said were unfair and did not reflect a true democracy. “We have let money and special interests corrupt our politics and steal our democracy right out from under us,” Cutler said […]
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Ethics commission fines LePage for missing campaign finance deadlines
The penalties, totaling $210, are preliminary, and LePage has the opportunity to request a waiver. Between May 28 and June 9, Maine law required candidates for elective office to file reports of any contribution over $1,000 within 24 hours of receiving the money. LePage’s gubernatorial campaign filed two late reports. Neither of his opponents — […]
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LePage campaign faces small campaign finance fine
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage’s campaign is facing fines for failing to report some contributions on time. The Maine ethics commission is seeking $210 from the Republican governor’s re-election team for missing reporting deadlines. The campaign failed to file two reports of contributions exceeding $1,000 within 24 hours, as required. Chief political adviser for LePage, […]