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When Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry noted in 2004 that he voted for military funding before he voted against it, then-President George W. Bush branded him a flip-flopper.
In Maine’s swing 2nd Congressional District race, state Rep. Austin Theriault, R-Fort Kent, is trying to affix that same label to three-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden. One of his weapons has been selectively highlighting Golden’s record. A new Golden ad cherry-picks Theriault’s vote, which led the Republican to hit back with more cherry-picking.
The big picture: Kerry walked his comments back two decades ago by calling them “inarticulate.” They were. But the episode was a candid recognition that legislators often end up on different sides of the same issue. That mostly happens when they are called to vote on sweeping bills or partisan amendments generally intended to embarrass other members.
What’s the context: This week’s ad from Golden features Androscoggin County Sheriff Eric Samson, a Democrat who praises the congressman’s record on policing, juxtaposing it against an April vote from Theriault against a budget addition that contained $5.5 million for police.
Yet that was just a small piece of the bill that added $127.4 million in spending to the state budget. Republicans cited wider concerns. Some criticized it for lacking money for rural police patrols, nursing homes and Gov. Janet Mills’ lack of willingness to amend it.
Theriault’s campaign issued a statement attacking Golden’s ad, noting the Republican’s votes for increasing rural patrols. It also highlighted votes of Golden’s including a legislative one in 2015 against a state budget that also contained police funding, although he later voted to override then-Gov. Paul LePage’s veto of the same document.
Republicans have used this tactic on immigration, hammering the Golden for his 2023 vote against H.R. 2, their priority bill. A Golden aide told WVII it was loaded with “poison pills.” Yet Golden’s record on this topic stands out for a Democrat. Until his vote against H.R. 2, the right-wing group NumbersUSA gave him a B- grade, the highest in Maine’s delegation.
What they’re saying: “We need leaders who put public safety first,” Samson says in the police-focused ad. “That’s Jared Golden.”
“No one will fight for our cops more than Austin Theriault,” former state Sen. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville, a retired state trooper, said in a response from the Republican’s campaign.
What’s really happening: Golden and Theriault have plenty of differences. On policing and immigration, they have more in common than many Democrats and Republicans across the country. But you don’t generally campaign by saying how much you’re like the other guy. That’s why the candidates are stretching each other’s records to excavate for differences.
