If a new ad is any indication, the Republican Governors Association wants to focus on Maine Independent gubernatorial candidate Eliot Cutler (pictured, left) and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rep. Mike Michaud (ME) than Republican Maine Gov. Paul LePage (pictured, right).
The new ad released by the RGA on Tuesday hits Michaud for, when he was in the state legislature, a vote new tax legislation concerning social security.
“It was such a bad idea that then-Gov. Angus King vetoed it,” the voiceover in the ad said. “No wonder independent King now endorses Eliot Cutler.”
The ad then pivots back to attacking Michaud on immigration policy. The ad makes no mention of LePage. That might be because recent polling has suggested that Cutler’s presence in the race is actually hurting Michaud more than LePage. A Public Policy Polling survey sponsored by the Maine Conservation Voters Action Fund found that 55 percent of Cutler supporters said their second choice would be Michaud while just 35 percent said their second choice could be LePage.
That same poll also found that in a head-to-head contest Michaud leads LePage 49 percent to 44 percent.
“The RGA knows that the only path to re-election for the deeply unpopular Gov. LePage is to boost the faltering campaign of Eliot Cutler,” Michaud campaign manager Matt McTighe said in a statement. “This is a desperate attempt to split the vote that is uniting to defeat Gov. LePage and end four years of policies that have held Maine’s economy back.”
watch the ad below:
The TPM Polltracker finds Michaud with a 0.3 point lead over the rest of the gubernatorial field.
