A new ad from national Republicans claims U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat from Maine’s 2nd District, is responsible for an asylum seeker housing complex outside of his district that was funded by state lawmakers.
It is one of a raft of claims that is either false or missing key context that both sides recently made in the tight 2nd District race between Golden, a Democrat and Marine veteran seeking a fourth term, and state Rep. Austin Theriault, R-Fort Kent, and ex-NASCAR driver.
Apart from immigration, the ads and claims during recent debates have touched on everything from guns to abortion and solar panels. Here’s a look at them and the important context left out.
Claim: Jared Golden gave ‘free housing to illegal immigrants’
A new ad from the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC supporting House Republicans, cites a January story from the conservative National Review on a Brunswick housing development for asylum seekers as the woman falsely claims “Jared Golden and liberals in Congress are giving free housing to illegal immigrants.”
“Illegal” is a misnomer here. Those seeking asylum may arrive undocumented in the U.S. but are here legally while they await action on immigration cases. Asylum seekers must wait at least six months to seek work authorization after arriving in the country, a timeline both Democratic and Republican lawmakers from Maine want to expedite.
In a 2022 budget bill, the Maine Legislature — not Congress — approved funding tied to the 60-unit housing complex in Brunswick Landing that opened last December. MaineHousing guarantees two years of rent for asylum seekers up to $3.3 million. But the families living in Brunswick have committed to put 30 percent of their income to rent once they obtain jobs.
The Congressional Leadership Fund ad does not provide additional context, but a link in the video’s description goes to the fund’s “fact check” page that cites an August news release on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announcing about $380 million awarded through the Shelter and Services Program to communities receiving migrants.
It fails to mention how U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has supported that program along with Democrats including Golden. The congressman stood out for not joining the rest of Maine’s delegation in a December letter seeking greater flexibility for it.
Claim: Austin Theriault thinks abortion should be ‘restricted’
While accurately pointing out that Theriault is an anti-abortion Republican, Golden’s campaign is missing more nuance in claiming Theriault said abortion “should be restricted.”
While running for the State House in 2022, Theriault responded “yes” to a Christian Civic League of Maine questionnaire asking: “Should access to abortion be restricted?” But Theriault also said during that campaign he supported keeping Maine’s liberal abortion laws in place, a moderate position when considering the more fervent anti-abortion members of his party.
He has since opposed numerous Democratic measures in Augusta to expand abortion access and also welcomed the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Theriault has not gone as far as some Republicans who support total or near-total abortion bans, saying in two debates since last week that no new federal law should go on the books.
Claim: Jared Golden has never supported a ‘gun registry’
During Monday’s second debate between the two candidates, talk turned once again to last year’s Lewiston mass shooting. Golden said he has never supported the creation of a “gun registry” in response to a Theriault claim.
Golden said after the Oct. 25, 2023, shooting in his hometown that he would no longer oppose a ban on assault-style weapons while also telling reporters and followers of his blog he supported regulating the sale of those existing weapons with a “permit and a regular review process.” Whatever you call it, running those checks would require some kind of log.
Golden, who said he owns an assault-style weapon, reiterated Monday that “some kind of permitting system” and “higher threshold” would help ensure people who own them “are of good character, of good mental health, aren’t addicted to drugs and are in a good solid state.”
Claim: Inflation Reduction Act led to solar panels and high costs in Maine
Theriault returned Monday to his frequent criticism of Golden voting for the Inflation Reduction Act, the sweeping climate, tax and health legislation Congress passed in 2022. Theriault claimed the act has led to a proliferation of “solar panel fields” and “big companies, primarily from out of state, coming into Maine and charging way over market price for electricity.”
While the Inflation Reduction Act does include tax credits for solar and other renewable energy projects, these small solar projects exploded after the Democratic-led Legislature enacted generous subsidies in 2019 to encourage them. Public Advocate Bill Harwood has said they will cost ratepayers $250 million annually by 2025, though the industry says that ignores benefits.
Theriault and a bipartisan mix of lawmakers unsuccessfully sought for a measure that would have sharply scaled back the subsidies in 2023. Regulators have also since been blamed for new rules resulting in solar fees that hit certain businesses heavily.
