Category Archives: On the Campaign Trail

Maine Republicans have chosen new tax breaks for the wealthy as their hill to die on

The closing argument from the Yes on 2 campaign last year arguing for a new 3% tax on income over $200,000 to fund K-12 education wasn’t an ad featuring crumbling Maine schools (although there are plenty) or discussing the societal benefits of investment in education (which are many). No, it was this commercial, featuring a […]

Happy expiration day! Gov. LePage’s citizen initiative is dead

Today, May 2nd, isn’t just notable as the birthday of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (45). It’s also the expiration day for the cut-taxes-and-welfare Frankenstein initiative proposed by Governor Paul LePage and the Maine Republican Party back in 2015. With time now having officially run out to gather signatures to place the measure on the ballot, […]

Liberty-linked contributions to Gov. LePage raise questions

On Monday the Maine U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that Michael Liberty, a real estate and finance magnate who was until recently based in Gray, had pleaded guilty to making illegal federal campaign contributions. According to the release, Liberty made contributions totaling $22,250 in the names of nine “employees, associates and family members” to a primary […]

It’s nearly impossible for pot and education funding referendums to be reversed by recounts

Opponents of both Questions 1, which legalizes marijuana for recreational use in Maine, and Question 2, which increasing taxes on the wealthy to fund K-12 education, formally submitted signatures yesterday to force statewide recounts of ballots cast on these initiatives. Under Maine law, the losing side of any race decided by less than 1.5% of […]

Maine 2016 election prediction results

Here’s how 60 self-selected participants think Maine’s elections go today. This is a completely unscientific measure, but the pool doesn’t have the worst track record of predicting results in recent cycles, in fact it has sometime been more accurate than the public polling. Here are the average results from what this group of politically-interested individuals […]

Watching the sinking of Maine politics through a Periscope

Last week I watched Representative Bruce Poliquin sprint from the media, refusing to answer questions about his support for Donald Trump as Maine Public’s Mal Leary shouted “Congressman, you can’t hide!” I watched Governor Paul LePage’s impromptu press conference where he called President Obama a dictator and showed off his Russian nesting dolls with the […]