AUGUSTA — An effort by Republican Gov. Paul LePage to move forward with a possible change in eligibility rules that would have reduced mental health services for thousands in Maine was rejected by the Legislature on Friday. Lawmakers in the House and the Senate overrode LePage’s veto of a bill that sets a moratorium on […]
Political Grind
Posted inMaine, Political Grind, The Franklin Journal
The Political Grind: Potatoes for WIC and lead paint certifcations for contractors
Eat the potato A recent decision by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to exclude white potatoes from a program designed to help pregnant, low-income mothers buy food to feed their children has members of Maine’s congressional delegation upset. U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, a Democrat representing Maine’s 2nd District, said in a recent column that the […]
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McKernan endorses Levesque
Former Maine Gov. John McKernan, a Republican and husband to Maine U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, has endorsed Auburn businessman Jason Levesque, the Republican congressional candidate running in Maine’s 2nd District. Levesque is taking on four-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, a Democrat. McKernan issued a fundraising letter to supporters on behalf of Levesque, according to […]
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Democrats get into endorsement game
Maine’s gubernatorial primary election is a week away and a recent poll shows many, many Maine voters are still undecided about who they are going to vote for. Cue the endorsements. On Sunday, the Maine Today Media group endorsed Democrat Pat McGowan and Republican Steve Abbott. On Tuesday afternoon, Libby Mitchell’s campaign touted an endorsement […]
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New poll shows open races in Maine gubernatorial primaries
What we know is that you don’t know. But we already knew that. According to a poll released today by the Pan Atlantic SMS Group, about 62 percent of Democrats and 47 percent of Republicans are undecided about which gubernatorial candidate they will vote for during the June 8 primary. The poll was taken between […]
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Gubernatorial candidate money totals with less than two weeks left to the primary election
And they’re coming around the final turn, headed into the home stretch – Maine’s most wide open gubernatorial race in years is less than two weeks away from narrowing the field of 14 to … at least five. At least five? In addition to the one Democrat and one Republican who will be on the […]
Posted inPolitical Grind, The Franklin Journal
The Political Grind: Maine gubernatorial race still wide open
Home stretch With a little more than two weeks left until the June 8 primary, the gubernatorial race is still pretty wide open within each party’s primary. The Democrats, with four candidates in the field, just wrapped up their state party convention, which was held in Lewiston, on Saturday. The Republicans have seven candidates seeking […]
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Rowe, Scarcelli file new campaign reports
Democratic gubernatorial candidates Steve Rowe and Rosa Scarcelli filed “accelerated” campaign finance reports on Friday with the state ethics commission. The reports filed by Rowe and Scarcelli are simple and not very detailed, but they do show that Scarcelli has loaned her campaign about $72,000 since the last reporting date, April 27th. She has loaned […]
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Maine Democratic convention schedule shapes up for Lewiston event
The Democrats are coming to town at the end of this week for their state convention, which will be held in the Lewiston Colisee. It’s the first time since 1984 that the Democrats have held their convention here. Here’s a look at the schedule highlights. (Everything will take place at the Colisee unless otherwise noted.) […]
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Snowe, Collins ready for oil spill hearings
Maine U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins will each have a chance to drill for answers from government and company officials regarding the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico next week in separate committee hearings. Collins, top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, will face off Monday afternoon with […]