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PORTLAND, Maine — U.S. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine’s 2nd District broke with Gov. Janet Mills on Wednesday by calling for the state to lead a lawsuit against the federal government over lobster regulations at a Wednesday rally.
“We need to call on whoever’s in the Blaine House, anyone that’s involved in state politics, we got to step up and lead the charge,” Golden told the crowd of hundreds.
The vulnerable Democrat was echoing an attack line on Mills that has come from former Gov. Paul LePage, a Republican who has promised to sue the administration of President Joe Biden himself if he is elected. He has criticized the governor and Attorney General Aaron Frey for the state’s status as an intervenor in a lawsuit led by the Maine Lobstermen’s Association.
The state set aside $3 million for legal costs and Mills put $100,000 from a taxpayer-funded contingency account toward legal costs. Attorney General Aaron Frey, a Democrat, said in a statement that the state becoming the leader of another suit would be “legally insignificant” because it is already making key arguments against the rules in court.
Asked about those comments, Golden said it was important for the state to show support for lobstermen and that the Mills administration may be “missing some other points of significance.”
“Tell Aaron Frey he needs to get a real job if that’s what he thinks,” LePage said.
Maine politicians have spoken with one voice against the rules, but the Democratic governor has come under fire for support of offshore wind development. Mills did not attend Wednesday’s rally and she was booed by the conservative-leaning crowd when her name was mentioned. Golden got no applause when he took the stage and some when he left it, seeming to win over many in the crowd with his support for the state becoming the plaintiff.
LePage and Golden’s opponent, former U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin, spoke at the rally. Independent Tiffany Bond, a Portland lawyer who is running in the 2nd District for the second time since 2018, was there but did not speak.