Politics
Our political journalists are based in the Maine State House and have deep source networks across the partisan spectrum in communities all over the state. Their coverage aims to cut through major debates and probe how officials make decisions. Read more Politics coverage here.
PORTLAND, Maine — The five Democrats fighting for the chance to replace outgoing Gov. Janet Mills made the case they were the best option to tackle Maine’s problems while fending off federal overreach by President Donald Trump in a Tuesday debate.
The Republican president was a frequent refrain from the opening and closing statements and many points in between, including a question that candidates shied away from about cuts they would make to the state budget.
Here are four key takeaways from the night.
Trump looms over the race.
All the candidates denounced Trump’s immigration policies, his “One Big Beautiful Bill” cuts to Medicaid and his targeting of federal dollars for the state during his feud with Mills last.
They also pivoted to Trump on a number of issues, saying the specter of his last few years in office could impact their decisions on budgeting.
“It’s like the eye of Sauron,” former clean energy executive Angus King III, the son of Maine’s junior senator, said of Trump’s influence on Maine politics.
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows tried to stand out by touting her efforts to blunt Trump. She cited blocking immigration officials seeking undercover license plates — something that prompted criticism from police — and tussles with Trump in court.
“We have to stand up to Trump on every fight … choose the person who already has,” she said.
Former Maine public health chief Nirav Shah said the state should brace for the next surge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, touting his plan to ban on law enforcement officers from wearing masks in Maine, requirements for active body cameras and visible identification, and pathways to hold officers accountable.
Going further was former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson went further, saying law enforcement should be arrested for “violating people’s constitutional rights.” Supreme Court precedent bars states from arresting federal agents except in extraordinary circumstances.
A dig and an apology?
The largely cordial contest saw few disagreements and no mudslinging as the candidates addressed housing, budgeting, education, health care and more.
But one apparent confrontation stood out. Bellows raised eyebrows when she appeared to call out former Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree, saying she appreciated “Hannah has adopted my view on property taxes.”
“I filed for a statewide freeze on property taxes of Maine residents, and doubling out-of-state residents’ taxes,” Bellows said.
Pingree noted she’s worked on housing and property tax issues since she was a young lawmaker in the early 2000s. She has called for an investment of $100 million annually to build and preserve more housing.
“I passed one of the first programs to fund housing at the state level,” she said, noting she worked in a state office which reported Maine needs up to 84,000 more housing units by 2030. “That wasn’t a talking point. That is literally how much housing we need.”
Pingree noted she’s worked on housing and property tax issues since she was a young lawmaker. She has called for an investment of $100 million annually to build and preserve more housing.
“I passed one of the first programs to fund housing at the state level,” she said, noting she worked in a state office which reported Maine needs up to 84,000 more housing units by 2030. “That wasn’t a talking point. That is literally how much housing we need.”
The secretary later said she didn’t mean to imply that Pingree had “plagiarized” her housing initiatives. She also apologized to Pingree in the studio after the debate.
Only one candidate disclosed their second choice.
While all the candidates got along and have been generally polite in an effort to appeal to other candidates’ voters in the ranked-choice voting primary, they weren’t eager to tell us their No. 2 choice. Shah was the only one to name it: Pingree, who stood to Shah’s left.
Jackson rolled his eyes and said nothing. Pingree said she hadn’t decided yet. Bellows said everyone on the stage would have roles in her administration.
And King quipped from the stage-right podium, “someone to my right.”
Are changes to the state budget process coming?
Mills and the Democratic-led Legislature have been reliant on simple-majority budgets over the past five years, bypassing Republicans to craft spending deals including the one this year that enshrined a millionaire tax and $300 relief checks. Before that, lawmakers typically passed consensus budgets with supermajorities.
All of the candidates save Jackson said they would try to have bipartisan budgets as opposed to the simple majority budgets we’ve primarily seen under the Mills administration.
Jackson led the field to backtrack a bit. He wouldn’t do a bipartisan budget if it includes tax cuts for the wealthy or takes away reproductive rights, asking if the rest of them would. They said no.
“Bipartisan if possible, but majority if needed,” Shah said.
