On this episode, we discuss the firestorm after a Janet Mills campaign ad this past week, with Gov. Mills finally beginning what may turn out to be a scorched Earth campaign against Graham Platner in Maine’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary.
She launched an ad which highlighted Platner’s comments on Reddit about victims of sexual assault. Platner, for his part, went on the air to respond to the ad — clearly ready for the attack — once again attempting to say he was a “different man” when he made the comments, and that he has changed.
The attack is the first in what is very likely to become a highly negative campaign, with Mills attempting to regain ground by tearing down Platner. But will it work, or will it backfire on her? We discuss.
We also preview the upcoming Republican gubernatorial debate in Bangor, which is hosted by Maine Policy Institute and Maine Civic Action, moderated by Steve Robinson, and presented on livestream by The Maine Wire. We talk about the debate, the field of candidates, and whether or not voters are actually making any real decisions at this point.
(Note: For clarity, Maine Policy Institute does not endorse political candidates or political parties, and our hosting of this event should not be misconstrued as any kind of official support or endorsement. We are presenting a candidate debate for the purposes of educating the public about the candidates who may become Maine’s next governor.)
Finally, we tackle a curious study that was conducted that attempted to account for a fiscal cost to the recent ICE operations in Maine. The study was heralded by progressive politicians and media outlets, but close scrutiny of the methodology leaves us with a lot of questions and doubts.
This and more on this week’s Pine Tree Pulse.