AUGUSTA, Maine — New arguments have been put to mattress and the big-name candidates going through off in Maine’s Tuesday elections spending the weekend revving up canvassers with their aides ready nervously for voters to resolve.

However the advert blitzes give a transparent image of what the candidates and their allies need you to recollect going into Election Day. They amplify the primary points on the coronary heart of the race and blend policy-focused and private battle traces.

Here’s a rundown of a number of the remaining advertisements in Maine’s gubernatorial and 2nd Congressional District races.

Republicans attempt to tie the governor to excessive prices.

The celebration’s marketing campaign to oust Gov. Janet Mills is about as near a single-issue one as you may get in modern-day politics. For the reason that spring, rising prices and inflation — a worldwide and nationwide downside — have been the focus of Republican messaging throughout the nation.

The advert appears responsible the governor for them, repeating a falsehood that she backs elevating the fuel tax. (The declare is attributed to a 2021 report for the Mills administration that claims the state might elevate the fuel tax to fund electric-vehicle initiatives, however she has by no means supported it.)

It additionally says “due to Mills, our heating payments are skyrocketing.” They’re certainly, however heating oil costs had been comparable in neighboring and Republican-led New Hampshire as of Halloween. It additionally calls a first-in-the-nation invoice aimed toward shifting recycling prices to packaging producers a “grocery tax” primarily based on one contested examine that confirmed costs would rise below the invoice.

Whereas there are issues states can do to regulate prices, the general downside will not be Mills’ alone. Republicans and their candidate, former Gov. Paul LePage, wish to discover sufficient specifics to make her pay the worth for them. It’s unclear if it’ll work. Solely 5 p.c of LePage voters mainly blamed state officers for prime prices in a ballot launched final week.

Democrats hit LePage on abortion with allusions to previous confrontations.

Abortion has been a spotlight of each Mills and this group, funded by the Democratic Governors Affiliation. The difficulty gained Democrats some traction after the U.S. Supreme Courtroom ended federal abortion rights in June, though Republicans now have polling momentum nationally.

Mills is an abortion-rights supporter, whereas LePage is anti-abortion and spoke at rallies on that trigger throughout his tenure. Democrats have stated he would put abortion entry in danger, however he has stated he wouldn’t signal a 15-week ban and even that he doesn’t oppose state Medicaid funding for abortion, a 2019 transfer by Mills that legislative Republicans united in opposition to.

Because the advert exhibits, none of this has stopped Democrats from hammering the difficulty. It begins by displaying a reel of contentious LePage clips — together with when he threatened to “deck” a tracker in September — after which launches into statements and strikes he made as governor.

Notably, it says LePage supported permitting states to ban abortions with out exceptions for rape and incest. That refers to a 2018 interview by which he known as Roe v. Wade the “legislation of the land,” however then stated if judges could make the case for throwing it out, “let’s do it.” LePage’s marketing campaign has stated he helps these exceptions, however the courtroom ruling did permit states to ban all abortions.

Democrats haven’t modified their message on this subject since LePage’s makes an attempt at moderation, betting that it might assist persuade a pool of swing voters to stay with Mills.

Republicans repeat their candidate’s line in opposition to a susceptible congressman.

Just about in every single place he goes, former U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin provides some variation of a line in opposition to U.S. Rep. Jared Golden of the 2nd District. It’s mirrored on this advert from Home Republicans’ marketing campaign arm, which says Golden votes with President Joe Biden and Speaker Nancy Pelosi 83 p.c of the time. That comes from a ProPublica evaluation of votes from this Congress.

Nonetheless, it units apart that the share is low in relative phrases. At 87 p.c, Golden has voted with Biden lower than some other Home Democrats, based on FiveThirtyEight. He’s additionally essentially the most conservative member of his caucus on financial points, VoteView finds. Golden has voted in opposition to his celebration typically on key points, together with spending and gun management.

However Republicans have pinned a lot of their latest assaults on his August assist for the Inflation Discount Act, as they do on this advert with the “87,000 new IRS brokers” declare. That’s inflated as a result of the whole is about to return over 10 years with 50,000 employees anticipated to retire inside 5 years. Nonetheless, the latest vote could give conservative-leaning voters some pause.

Golden takes a tough topic for his celebration head-on.

For his half, Golden is leaning into prices and his assist for the Inflation Discount Act in an atypical marketing campaign for a Democrat. “Inflation” is the primary phrase in his 60-second closing advert.

The advert’s anti-Biden rhetoric is essentially the most attention-grabbing theme. He touts his vote in opposition to Biden’s Construct Again Higher plan “as a result of I knew it will make inflation worse.” He later says he’s “combating Biden’s failed vitality coverage, forcing him to drill extra American oil.”

The reference there may be to the inflation invoice signed by Biden. It does assure new drilling improvement within the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska that the president was skeptical of previously whereas together with a mixture of taxes seized on by Republicans plus local weather and well being care advantages.

Principally the entire themes in Golden’s robust reelection race are current right here, operating the gamut from his try to separate himself from his celebration — and from Poliquin’s assaults — whereas defending latest actions taken by Democrats aimed toward prices.

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