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.
Copy cleanup, aisle 5!
For Mainers to have LePage that close…I don’t get it. They must have frost between their ears from last year’s heavy winter, and it still hasn’t thawed yet. Re-elect LePage and you’ll have icicles replacing that frost, along with shitty roads and sky-high heating costs that you’ll be paying more for in the years to come. Good Luck then Maine.
If Mainers were serious about getting rid of CrazyLePage, they would have laughed Cutler off stage from the get go. This race reminds me of the three way between Crist, Rubio and Meeks in 2010. Rubio and Meeks split the Democratic vote while Rubio cruised to victory.
I wouldn’t at all be surprised to learn Cutler and LePage are in cahoots.
Way to go, Maine.
The man is also as loathsome and petty a bomb thrower as the worst hate radio clowns. It never ceases to amaze me what abrasive assholes conservatives are able to tolerate.
That would be twice that Cutler would throw the election to LePage. How could Maine not loath him just for that alone?