Lepage ahead of the November elections

On a day largely devoted to official party business, several thousand state convention attendees approved a platform — essentially a statement of ideals — filled with conservative ideals.

Among other things, the platform calls for eliminating the income tax, espouses the “sanctity of human life — from conception to natural death,” opposes federal Common Core education standards and proficiency based learning, calls for respect of free speech “regardless of the merits of the opinions expressed,” defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and calls for an end to public campaign financing.

The biggest news happened when attendees voted to change the party’s platform rules to say they preferred using a plurality vote in their primary elections rather than ranked-choice voting. Party leaders followed that up by filing suit in federal court seeking to block the Maine Secretary of State’s Office from using ranked-choice voting to decide winners in the June 12 Republican primaries.

On Friday evening, a smaller crowd was expected to honor LePage as he winds down his second and final four-year term in the Blaine House. Republican Party officials declined to allow press into the event, however, describing it as a “private celebration” that also serves as a fundraiser.

On Saturday, attendees are expected to hear from the four Republicans running to succeed LePage as governor, as well as candidates for congressional offices.