AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Maine Republicans gathered at their state convention Saturday to celebrate their term-limited governor’s record and hear from leading party officials and gubernatorial candidates.
More than 1,000 party delegates from across the state celebrated the party’s gains in Maine during the last decade. The 2010 and 2012 conventions saw Tea Party-fueled uprisings against the conservative establishment.
Since 2011, Republican Gov. Paul LePage has cut income taxes, kicked hundreds of low-income Mainers off public assistance, paid off hospital debt and cut Maine’s pension deficit. He said more must be done to attract young people to the state with the highest median age.
“Despite all the tactics from the left, despite some difficulties within our own party between the House and the Senate at times, we got it done,” LePage said at the event in Augusta. “We prevailed.”
Delegates still mulling which candidate they want to continue LePage’s legacy gave the governor standing ovations.
As a child, LePage lived on the streets of Lewiston. He worked in the lumber industry and later as a business consultant and manager of a Maine-based discount store chain.
“It’s an example of what you can do if you set your mind to it,” Buckfield resident Timothy Turner said.
The GOP is hoping record-low unemployment and fiscal stability under LePage will draw voters its way in the June 12 primary.
Republicans have touted their party’s recent wins in rural areas of the historically independent-minded state. Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins has represented the state since 1996, while Republican U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin has represented the state’s 2nd Congressional District since 2014.
In 2016, Poliquin’s district for the first time split Maine’s electoral votes, sending one to Donald Trump, then the Republican nominee for president.
Despite such wins, voting data show Republicans made up a slightly smaller percentage of active voters in November 2017: about 26.8 percent, compared to 27.9 percent in November 2007. Democrats saw a tiny gain during those years.
Four Republican gubernatorial candidates trying to distinguish themselves ahead of the June primary said they’ll continue LePage’s welfare and fiscal policies while fighting out-of-state interest groups.
LePage’s wife, Ann, on Saturday endorsed Shawn Moody, a businessman without political office experience, in his run for governor. LePage’s daughter Lauren works for Moody, who started a chain of auto body shops as a 17-year-old and ran for governor as an independent in 2010.
“Business people know how to get things done,” he said, deeming himself an “outsider businessman” like LePage, Poliquin and President Trump.
“The socialists in Portland cannot take over our great state,” said Republican gubernatorial candidate Mary Mayhew, a former Democrat and lobbyist who served as Department of Health and Human Services commissioner under LePage. She said she’s fought liberals to reduce public assistance for immigrants and low-income adults.
“I believe we need a governor who is ready on Day 1,” said Republican Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason, who pledged support for anti-abortion policies. The 32-year-old has worked in sports management and is accepting public funds despite being a critic of them.
Republicans wield narrow control of the state Senate and a growing House minority. House Republicans come into the convention a year after temporarily shutting down state government and days after blocking an extension of the legislative session to work on pending issues.
“Sometimes we forget what we did together the last eight years,” Republican House Leader and gubernatorial candidate Ken Fredette said.
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