By Michael Shepherd - Sept. 15, 2022
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📷 Former Rep. Bruce Poliquin, Rep. Jared Golden and Tiffany Bond, the candidates for Maine's 2nd District, are shown in a composite image. (BDN photos)

Good morning from Augusta. There are 54 days until Election Day.

What we're watching today

In a reversal, the 2nd District congressman won't debate without a third candidate present. Debates have never been easy between Rep. Jared Golden and former Rep. Bruce Poliquin. In 2018, the two only debated each other twice, which is less than usual in top-tier Maine races. This year, they each agreed to three debates, but only two were with one another.

Golden, a two-term Democrat, shook that up further on Wednesday evening when he issued an open letter saying he would not move forward with one of the two debates that the party candidates had already agreed to.

It was because of criteria that would likely keep Portland lawyer Tiffany Bond, an independent on the ranked-choice voting ballot, from participating. That Oct. 5 debate hosted by WABI of Bangor, WAGM of Presque Isle and the nonprofit Aroostook Partnership, will require candidates to reach 15 percent support in a pre-debate poll, in line with presidential debate standards.

If Golden does not participate, it will just leave a Sept. 27 debate with WCSH of Portland and WLBZ in Bangor as the only one between the candidates after Poliquin declined an all-candidate debate from Maine Public and Golden rejected one with a 5 percent threshold from the Bangor Daily News and WGME of Portland, saying he would only commit to three debates.

When Golden agreed to the Aroostook County debate, he knew about the 15 percent cutoff. But his strategist, Bobby Reynolds, said after examining debates further, the congressman feels that one debate with all three candidates was "not enough" for the voters.

Golden used his letter to pressure Poliquin on the Maine Public debate and chided media organizations for "arbitrary" standards, citing the role that Bond's voters could play in the race after her voters helped tipped a 2018 ranked-choice runoff in Golden's favor as he narrowly ousted Poliquin.

"I look forward to debating both of my opponents and am optimistic we can give the voters what they deserve: all three debates with all three candidates," Golden said.

Poliquin's campaign looked unwilling to indulge the new challenge, with campaign manager Ben Trundy saying he was trying to "dial back and hide his positions from the voters" by backing away from one debate.

There are clear political considerations for each of the major candidates here. Poliquin railed against ranked-choice voting both before and after his 2018 loss. He is now replaying a strategy of asking supporters to simply rank him first in the upcoming election. His debate strategy could be read as trying to avoid elevating Bond to depress the effect of ranked-choice voting, while Golden has a countervailing incentive to have Bond appear next to him.

While Poliquin ducked the Maine Public debate, he has not totally conditioned his participation on Bond's absence. Golden is now effectively pulling out of one to condition his participation on hers. His stance so far does not look like it is going to prompt his main opponent to change course and media outlets are wary to let candidates pressure them on criteria. There may be no resolution here.

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News and notes

📷 Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, stands in a subway car on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 9, 2022. (AP photo by Patrick Semansky)

💍 There is new worry for a Maine senator's bill protecting same-sex marriage.

◉ It has been unclear whether there is enough Republican support for the Senate to pass a measure negotiated in part by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, shielding the federal right to same-sex marriage from potential court challenges.

◉ While Collins cited "good progress" on the matter last week, Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, a key Republican supporter of the bill, told Politico this week that the votes are not there yet and members need more time to rally support.

◉ Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, has put the bill on track to face a Senate vote as soon as next week, although Collins and others have not yet released a religious freedom amendment aiming to assuage skeptical Republicans. The group met Wednesday to work on the measure.

◉ "I still think we can do this next week," Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, the chief sponsor of the bill, told Politico.

💸 The money battle in the governor's race is largely between two counterpart groups.

◉ The race between Gov. Janet Mills and former Gov. Paul LePage has already drawn $3.1 million in outside money, with about 98 percent of that coming from the Republican and Democratic governors associations.

◉ Those groups are playing slightly different roles in the race. The Maine Republican Party, mostly funded by the Republican Governors Association, ran the first pro-LePage ad in the campaign and can be seen as a slightly more integrated part of his apparatus as he faces a fundraising gap with Mills. It has spent more than $1.9 million on the governor's race this year.

◉ A Better Maine, the political group here run by the Democratic Governors Association, has spent nearly $1.1 million so far, including on a recent anti-LePage ad. Mills has run positive ads through her campaign so far.

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What we're reading

🚤 You've read a lot about the "Seafood Watch" listing of lobsters. But what will it actually do to the industry? We've got you covered.

🐶 Nearly 1 in 6 Mainers continued to work mostly from home after the pandemic eased in 2021, signaling a permanent shift in American life.

📚 One of Maine's smallest and most rural university campuses is growing.

🎿 The backers of a $126 million ski resort planned for Piscataquis County won a major state permit, albeit with conditions that require them to complete it within five years.

🌳 The Maine native who founded Patagonia has renounced $3 billion in shares in the company, putting the company on track to use its profits to fight climate change. The move is unprecedented in the business world.

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❌ Correction: Wednesday's newsletter contained incorrect references to state Rep. Dustin White, R-Mars Hill, on his hometown and status in the Legislature. He is term-limited from running again in 2022.

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