Maine Gov. Janet Mills, D, has won reelection after defeating former Gov. Paul LePage, R, who was seeking a third term after deciding not to run in 2018. Mills was the state’s attorney general during all eight years of the LePage administration and said she has a history of bipartisanship. She ran on health care expansion, public school funding, preserving Maine’s lands and waters and fighting climate change.
LePage’s career in politics goes back decades and includes seven years as the mayor of Waterville. He campaigned on lowering taxes, protecting parent’s rights and protecting vulnerable populations — children, the elderly, and disabled.
In their final debate, LePage attacked Mills for saying inflation is a “distraction” at a recent event. Mills said Republicans were taking those comments out of context and leaving out the part where she said it’s a big problem that needs to be dealt with.
Mills meanwhile defended her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and said LePage’s previous eight years in office were marked with “instability and infighting.”
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, abortion became a central issue in the race. Mills said she wanted to defend what she described as “the right to a safe and legal abortion.” LePage meanwhile said he was pro-life and that he wants to limit taxpayer-funded abortion except in case of rape, incest, or when the mother’s life is in danger.
Abortion is legal in the state up to the point of viability, except when it’s necessary to save the life or health of the mother.
