In case you missed it, yesterday the Portland Press Herald called out Paul LePage’s campaign for lying yet again, this time in an ad making false accusations about Governor Mills’ immigration and opioid policies. According to the article, “it’s not accurate to claim that Mills supports welfare for illegal immigrants…The ad also repeats a widely discredited accusation that Mills is ‘handing out crack pipes.’”
In just the last week, Maine outlets have repeatedly called out the LePage campaign for blatant lies:
NewsCenter Maine: LePage said, "Janet Mills, you're a liar. I have not joined and prevented Muslims from going to work ever. I did not join the Trump Administration in any immigration." However, we found a Feb. 7, 2017, Tweet from then-governor LePage, saying; "AG Mills speaks for herself on immigration order. I support @realDonaldTrump exec action to protect all Americans. #mepolitics #MAGA."
Maine Public’s Steve Mistler: “Let me just check you on the crack pipes thing…that’s part of a federal program, and that federal program does not specifically fund crack pipes.”
Portland Press Herald: [LePage’s immigration comment] was one of several clearly false statements LePage made at the debate, continuing a pattern he had as governor. He claimed Mills was distributing “crack pipes.” He also said he had never questioned election results, including Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential race, when in fact he had done so loudly and repeatedly.
Maine Monitor: In the first debate of the gubernatorial campaign, famously tax-critical former Republican Gov. Paul LePage suggested he would suspend all new taxes put in place since the pandemic began to combat inflation…But Maine has not introduced new taxes since the pandemic began, according to the state and a review of the Legislative Taxation Committee bills from 2020 to 2022.
Bangor Daily News Editorial Board: As Tuesday night proved, sometimes the people talking the loudest about supposed lies don’t have their facts straight themselves.
In response to the LePage campaign’s barrage of lies, Maine Democratic Party Chair Drew Gattine released the following statement:
“With less than a month left until the election, Paul LePage has given up any pretense of running an honest campaign. While his blatant lies are a clear sign that his campaign is getting desperate, they are also divisive and dangerous. LePage has previously said that he wants to bring our state together—if he truly believes that, he must stop the lies and honestly campaign on his record, no matter how bad that record might be.”