Republicans praise independent candidate in bid to win Maine gubernatorial election

Republicans praise independent candidate in bid to win Maine gubernatorial election
(Image credit: YouTube)

A new ad from the Republican Governors Association begins by attacking Maine gubernatorial candidate Rep. Mike Michaud (D) for sponsoring a Social Security bill in the state legislature. But instead of pivoting from there to endorse incumbent Republican Gov. Paul LePage, the ad spotlights, in a favorable frame, the independent candidate in the race, Eliot Cutler.

The ad never even mentions LePage at all.

It's no mistake, but rather part of a larger campaign by Republicans to quietly boost Cutler — the state GOP put out mailers praising him this month — in hopes he'll steal away votes from Michaud among the anti-LePage crowd. Polls have found LePage and Michaud running dead even, with Cutler a distant third.

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Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.