Maine Public’s Your Vote 2022 guide to the general election

Lower than two weeks from now, Mainers will solid their votes for governor.

If former Republican Gov. Paul LePage reclaims the workplace, it will be a primary in state historical past — though different governors have served nonconsecutive phrases, none have held the place for longer than eight years.

However doing so would require defeating incumbent Democratic Gov. Janet Mills — who’s each outraising and outpolling him — and unbiased Sam Hunkler.

Voters have extra to resolve than simply the state’s chief government, nevertheless. Right here’s all the things you should know earlier than you hit the polls:

Who’s working for governor?

The battle between Mills and LePage is, after all, taking heart stage this midterm election.

The 2 have a deep and contentious shared historical past, relationship again to when Mills served as Maine’s legal professional basic for a lot of LePage’s two phrases as governor. (Credit score the place it’s due, the Press Herald’s Randy Billings collected all of the receipts.)

In actual fact, LePage has mentioned he determined to run for a 3rd, nonconsecutive time period explicitly to unseat Mills. LePage moved to Florida and altered his residency to the Sunshine State instantly after Mills took workplace in 2019, however moved again to Maine in 2021 earlier than leaping into the race.

LePage has attacked Mills on pocketbook points, accusing her of driving up inflation by sending most taxpayers $850 rebates from a state finances surplus and of accelerating vitality costs by her insurance policies on renewable vitality. He has additionally accused her of not doing sufficient to counter the state’s opioid disaster — which took off throughout his administration — and of selling “woke” schooling insurance policies in Okay-12 colleges.

LePage has tried to mood the chaos and theatrics that characterised his time in workplace, together with softening his divisive rhetoric on immigration, as an illustration. (Although, relying on the viewers, you may hear a special model.)

Mills made historical past as Maine’s first feminine legal professional basic after which first girl governor. She has largely campaigned on her administration’s dealing with of the COVID-19 pandemic, comparable to its excessive vaccination charges and low loss of life charges regardless of having the nation’s oldest inhabitants. She has additionally pointed to these $850 checks as providing important help to Mainers battling rising prices for fuel, groceries and heating oil whereas pledging to do extra on inflation if reelected.

However a significant focus of Mills’ marketing campaign — and of Democrats, generally — has been that Maine “gained’t return” to the chaos and divisiveness of the LePage years. Democrats have additionally portrayed LePage and a Republican majority within the State Home (extra on that under) as a dire menace to Maine’s practically 30-year-old legislation defending ladies’s entry to abortion within the wake of the Supreme Courtroom overturning Roe v. Wade.

The third candidate on the poll is unbiased Sam Hunkler, a semi-retired doctor from Washington County who’s providing himself up because the collaborative consensus-builder not beholden to the foremost events.

Hunkler is working an almost-zero-budget marketing campaign, pledging to not settle for any donations and aiming to spend simply $5,000 of his personal cash. He additionally has not clearly outlined many coverage specifics, insisting as an alternative that he would hearken to Mainers in regards to the points. However Hunkler has struggled to interrupt by in a marketing campaign that’s drawing nationwide curiosity and tens of tens of millions of {dollars} in spending from the nationwide events to help Mills or LePage.

Maine Public hosted the candidates’ first debate of the season, which created some ripples nationally for LePage’s fumbled response on whether or not he’d help further restrictions on abortion.

Who’s working for Congress?

Voters in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District are requested to decide on between incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, former Republican U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin and unbiased Tiffany Bond, a near-perfect rematch of the 2018 race.

The state’s northernmost district is a little bit of a purple anomaly, going for President Donald Trump in each 2016 and 2020, however placing Golden in workplace in 2018 (and preserving him in energy in 2020).

Poliquin sat out the 2020 race after a stinging defeat determined by ranked-choice voting — the first time it was employed in a federal election. He beforehand gained the 2nd District seat in 2014 and 2016 and, earlier than that, was state treasurer below LePage.

Golden, a army veteran, served two phrases within the Maine Home earlier than his election to the U.S. Home. And though ranked-choice voting got here into play within the three-way 2018 race, Golden gained the 2020 race outright towards Republican challenger Dale Crafts.

Poliquin’s marketing campaign has targeted on points straight out of the nationwide Republican playbook, comparable to inflation, authorities spending, immigration, medicine coming throughout the southern border and vitality costs. He has additionally tried to painting Golden as being too aligned with Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi (regardless of Golden voting towards her as speaker twice) and with President Joe Biden.

Golden is a average Democrat who has campaigned on the truth that he has opposed the Pelosi and Biden agendas greater than every other Democrat (which is true, in accordance with analyses by ProPublica and FiveThirtyEight). In actual fact, he has repeatedly pissed off his Democratic Home colleagues and lots of progressives in Maine together with his votes towards his social gathering on gun management, COVID-19 aid packages, police reform and Biden’s Construct Again Higher plan. However he’s additionally a staunch supporter of abortion rights and a voted to question former President Trump.

Bond is a household legal professional working a low-budget marketing campaign, encouraging supporters to donate cash to charities or spend it with native companies. Regardless of her odds of profitable this 12 months’s race, Bond is prone to affect the result by ranked-choice voting, as she did in 2018.

Bond participated in a question-and-answer session with Maine Public in lieu of a standard debate, as neither Poliquin nor Golden appeared.

What about in southern Maine?

In Maine’s 1st Congressional District, voters will select to both reelect Democratic U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree or exchange her with Republican Ed Thelander.

Pingree was first elected to characterize the extra left-leaning, southern a part of the state in 2008, defeating Republican Charlie Summers by about 9 proportion factors. And her help has solely grown, profitable by 13 or extra factors in each basic election since.

There hasn’t been a flurry of out of doors spending within the race — on both aspect — maybe an indication of whether or not the race is seen as aggressive.

Thelander, a former Navy SEAL, has by no means held political workplace and polls point out that he’s comparatively unknown to voters. Whereas he’s run a considerably typical marketing campaign towards Pingree, he has additionally drawn criticism for his feedback in regards to the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and debunked conspiracy theories.

Pingree and Thelander met on Maine Public’s debate stage on Oct. 12. The 2 clashed over the economic system and inflation, in addition to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and immigration.

Are there different races?

Neither Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins nor unbiased U.S. Sen. Angus King are up for reelection. They subsequent face voters in 2026 and 2024, respectively.

The election will resolve the stability of energy within the state Legislature, which is made up of 186 legislators — 35 within the Senate and 151 in Home.

State lawmakers are up for reelection each two years and the composition of the Legislature determines what state legal guidelines will likely be handed, what’s within the state’s two-year finances and sometimes whether or not the sitting governor will be capable to advance their coverage agenda.

At present Democrats management the Legislature, however Republicans are vying to take over each chambers, and redistricting is anticipated to make many contests extra aggressive than they already had been. Hundreds of thousands of {dollars} have been spent on races that might decide which social gathering will maintain the bulk when the brand new Legislature is seated in December.

The Maine Legislature additionally elects the state’s legal professional basic, secretary of state, treasurer and state auditor. The contests for legal professional basic and secretary of state are notably consequential. The legal professional basic acts because the state’s authorized counsel, and as such, makes selections about lawsuits to interact in. The secretary of state controls the Bureau of Motor Automobiles and election administration.

Are there any questions on the poll?

There are not any statewide referendums on the poll. However voters could have native referendums to vote on — to see what’s in your native poll, search for a pattern from the Maine Secretary of State’s workplace right here.

Specifically, voters in Bar Harbor will resolve whether or not to cut back the variety of cruise ship passengers which will disembark on the town every day. And within the Boothbay space, voters will contemplate whether or not to take away fluoride from the general public water provide.

Portland voters have an enormous variety of native points to vote on — so many, the truth is, it warranted a separate information, which you’ll be able to learn right here.

What else do I have to know?

Maine has very permissive entry to the polls — only a few Mainers are restricted from casting votes, and registration might be completed as much as and together with on Election Day.

Absentee voting is happening now — it’s possible you’ll request a poll up until Nov. 3, and should return it by shut of polls at 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Maine Public has partnered with America Amplified to reply these and different questions you could have about voting — an inventory of often requested questions might be discovered right here, or you’ll be able to submit your query right here.