More than 1,800 Republicans will gather at the Augusta Civic Center Friday and Saturday for a convention that will give candidates a chance to try out their stump speeches and build momentum as the party bids to regain control of the state.
On Friday, the event will feature a speech by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, the presentation of a new party platform and an evening banquet with a yet-to-be-announced keynote speaker. On Saturday, candidates for the 2nd Congressional District will speak, with Liz Caruso of Caratunk leading off, followed by former U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin of Orrington.
Later that day, former Gov. Paul LePage, who is seeking a third term, will address the convention, as will 1st Congressional District candidate Ed Thelander. In between speeches, attendees will gather for caucuses and party-building events that are key to successful elections, said Maine Republican Party Executive Director Jason Savage.
“I think there’s more excitement this time than I’ve seen in a while,” Savage said.
Part of that is because two years ago, as the COVID-19 pandemic was in its early months, the party conducted its convention virtually. This year, all events will be back in person and will include activities such as “Jeopardy!” style questions and a Saturday barbecue.
“Republicans in Maine have been browbeaten into thinking they are all alone out there,” Savage said. “Everybody getting together is really great.”
Republicans are hoping to take back the 2nd Congressional seat from Democrat U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, the governor’s seat from Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and the state House and Senate. In the 1st District, Thelander faces an uphill battle against U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat who has held the seat since 2009.
The proposed party platform includes traditional Republican ideals, including an emphasis on lowering taxes and reducing government regulations. It mentions eliminating the state income tax and abolishing the federal Department of Education.
Platform Committee Chairman Andy Torbett said in an email that the platform is designed to encourage “activists and grassroots movements to unify on the various election issues.”
On social issues, the platform opposes gay marriage and states that “Maine’s public educational institutions should not permit biological males to compete in sporting events organized for women.” Torbett said the platform committee recognized this as a national issue that could soon come to Maine.
“The committee felt strongly that it must be addressed,” he wrote. “What in the past was considered common sense, seems, in some company, to not be so common anymore.”
In addition, the platform supports English as the official language of the state and the U.S., requiring photo identification to vote, repealing the state’s Clean Election Act that allows political candidates to use taxpayer money for campaign expenses and repealing ranked choice voting.
It also encourages Republican candidates to “oppose any policy that promotes agendas which undermine individual accountability in favor of a focus on class, gender, or race (e.g.: Critical Race Theory).”
Although critical race theory is a law school concept that examines the effect laws have on people of color, conservative groups have used the term to describe what they consider to be a way of teaching that makes white children uncomfortable because of the country’s history of slavery.
“We have reports of this teaching being propagated in our education, even in Maine,” Torbett wrote. “The idea that any regressive education that foists the idea on our children that individuals are judged by the color of their skin and not the content of their character, in any measure at any time, is at best appalling and should be utterly rejected by a civil society.”
For Savage, the party building and networking are key parts of what he hopes will be a successful election season for the GOP.
“The rest of it is really just about us organizing and trying to put ourselves in a place where we return to power for parents, small business owners and the people of Maine,” he said.
