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AUGUSTA, Maine — From unpaid taxes to unfounded corruption claims, the rhetoric has been hot toward the closing stages of the Republican primary for the right to face U.S. Rep. Jared Golden in Maine’s swing 2nd Congressional District.
The conservative bastion of talk radio has been the main playing field. The people talking have more often been supporters of the candidates rather than the hopefuls themselves.
It has become a major theme of a primary between two freshmen state lawmakers with no experience running for higher office. While Rep. Austin Theriault of Fort Kent is a frontrunner with high fundraising totals and the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, Rep. Mike Soboleski has locked down many legislators and activists in a plucky campaign.
In the last few weeks, former Maine Republican Party Chair Charlie Webster went on WVOM to resurrect criticism of Soboleski’s business history that Theriault raised in the winter. Allies of Soboleski have popped up to defend their candidate, with one baselessly alleging that Theriault tried to steer public money to his family’s logging and trucking business.
Former Maine Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason, a lobbyist who has donated to both candidates, said he thinks the “dirty work” from each side “shows that it’s a close race.”
Conservatives frequently use talk radio to get messages across. There were times during LePage’s tenure when the only interviewers he spoke to were WVOM hosts George Hale and Ric Tyler. Their morning news talk show has been ground zero for the 2nd District chatter.
Webster, who has endorsed Theriault, gave a May 24 interview detailing Soboleski’s unpaid business tax liens dating back to the 1990s. That was one of the items that Theraiult sparked a feud by raising at party meetings this winter, as well as Soboleski previously owning an Augusta nightclub that featured male and female exotic dancers.
Theriault’s campaign amplified Webster’s interview that day, though the former party chair said in an interview that the campaign did not ask him to go on air. On the radio, Webster expressed respect for Soboleski but said his baggage would cost the party a chance to oust Golden.
“I think the Democrats will use that, and we will lose the seat,” he said.
Later that morning, Rep. Katrina Smith, R-Palermo, called in to defend Soboleski. The attacks have veered into unverified territory and come from people who have not officially endorsed either candidate.
Jim LaBrecque, a refrigeration technician who served as a LePage energy adviser, used his regular spot on Hale and Tyler’s show to criticize Theriault in early May for sponsoring biomass legislation. (He claimed Theriault made a deal with Democrats to establish a biomass facility that would benefit his family, but the legislation increased the size of an existing state program and no state bids for new facilities have been accepted yet.)
Soboleski’s campaign spokesperson, Rep. John Andrews, R-Paris, who has also vouched for Soboleski on WVOM, said the campaign did not ask LaBrecque to “do anything on the air,” and Theriault’s campaign called the claims baseless.
But Andrews confirmed the Soboleski campaign asked Pastor Bob Emrich from Emmanuel Bible Baptist Church in Plymouth to go on WVOM and talk about his endorsement of Soboleski. During a May 23 segment, Emrich said he likes Theriault, 30, but views him as “too young” and thinks Soboleski, 67, is better prepared to navigate Congress.
Emrich also lamented a “whisper campaign” against Soboleski and criticized an edited audio clip the Theriault campaign posted on a website — realmikesobo.com — that features Soboleski saying he is “pro-life” during a recent radio debate and contrasts it with him telling the conservative Maine Wire in June 2023 he is “pro-choice.”
Theriault campaign manager Shawn Roderick said Soboleski has “voted to raise taxes” and is not endorsed by Trump. (While Soboleski initially voted in favor of a bill that opponents claimed would result in higher taxes by allowing municipalities to charge cable providers for using public right-of-way infrastructure, Soboleski opposed the bill during an enactment vote.)
“That may be why so many falsehoods have been flying around,” Roderick said.
The primary winner will face no small task in November in beating Golden, who was first elected in 2018 and voted against Biden more than any other House Democrat in 2023. He has beaten back Republican challengers in a district Trump carried in 2016 and 2020, though national observers have rated the seat a “toss up” this year.
The Theriault-Soboleski campaign may be late in taking shape in part due to the candidates still getting their names out there. Jason Savage, the executive director of the Maine Republican Party, has noted voter confusion about this primary after the presidential one in March. Talk radio remains a free way to push the preferred narratives.
“At a time when voters are in some cases finally tuning into a race, you’ll see campaigns do all they can to get their messages aggressively across,” said Republican strategist Brent Littlefield, who worked for LePage and former Rep. Bruce Poliquin of the 2nd District.
BDN writer Michael Shepherd contributed to this report.
