A conservative candidate running against Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) in the Republican primary argued that his decision to fight his domestic violence conviction in court showed his integrity.
The candidate, Erick Bennett, a consultant in Portland who worked on the anti-marriage equality push in 2012, made the argument Monday at a press conference. He discussed his Senate campaign, his time serving for Maine Gov. Paul LePage‘s (R) campaign in 2010 and his domestic violence conviction.
“The fact that I have been jailed repeatedly for not agreeing to admit to something I didn’t do should speak to the fact of how much guts and integrity I have,” Bennett said. “I’ve noticed some people questioning that.”
In 2003 Bennett was convicted of attacking his then-wife. A district court convicted him of Class D Assault. Bennett fought the conviction but in 2004 a Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the lower court “sufficient evidence does exist in the record to support his conviction,” according to the Bangor Daily News. At the press conference Bennett stressed his innocence.
Bennett went on to say that that his time in jail demonstrates how much character he has.
“If I go to D.C., I’m going to have that same integrity in doing what I say, and saying what I do, when it comes to protecting people’s rights, as well as their pocketbooks,” Bennett continued, according to the Daily News.
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(H/t: Slate)
