PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and former two-term Republican Gov. Paul Rupage had very different views on the state’s economy as things escalated in Thursday night’s fourth debate. .
LePage has continued to attack incumbents and the economy has been stagnant since he stepped down in 2019, suggesting Mills’ policies were a big factor in inflationary pressure. He said people’s lives are worse off than they were four years ago, despite the flood of federal pandemic aid into the state.
“I’m a person with a business background, and a business background works this way. In the private sector, if you spend more money and don’t get results, you get fired.” He said.
Mills said economists believe Maine’s budget is strong and well-positioned to weather the recession. She said the state has restored jobs lost to the pandemic, the state’s economic growth ranks her 11th in the nation, and her 3.3% unemployment rate in Maine outperforms the national and New England averages. I said yes.
“We are doing a very good job under difficult circumstances,” she replied.
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A former state attorney general and Maine’s first female governor, Mills is seeking a second term in one of the many gubernatorial elections being held across the country. LePage hopes to serve her third term and become the state’s longest-serving governor.
Both accused the other of spreading misinformation at a debate hosted by the Maine News Center and the Maine Chamber of Commerce. They clashed over issues such as pandemic policy, energy issues, school policy, prison staffing, and relations with Native Americans.
The debate was at times acrimonious, with him calling Mills “a hell of a terrible economist” early in the debate, as he stepped up his criticism two weeks before the election.
“I’ve spent most of my career listening to loud men tell harsh stories to hide their weaknesses,” Mills replied.
In a previous debate, Lepage accused Mills of spending money like a “drunk sailor” and said she gave more than half of the state’s surplus back to residents in $850 bailout checks. .
On Thursday night, Mills asked Lepage, who criticized the bailout check as a gimmick, if he had cashed the check. “I think so, yes,” he replied.
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