AUGUSTA, Maine - Maine Republicans and Democrats are trading accusations over political advertisements that both allege contain distortions. Republican State Chair Rick Bennett is asking all Maine television stations to suspend the airing of a Mike Michaud for Governor ad, saying the Democratic candidate's message refers to a newspaper report that doesn't exist. But Democrats stand by the ad, and instead charge that a Republican TV spot alleging that Michaud supports giving welfare to illegal immigrants is a real example of distorting the facts.
Last week, Democrats and Republicans in the race for governor both exchanged attack ads they hoped would erode voter support for each other's candidates. Now Republicans have upped the ante and are calling on Maine television stations to pull an ad for Democratic candidate Mike Michaud.
Specifically, Rick Bennett, the GOP state chair, is taking exception to a graphic image in the ad of a newspaper called State News Service. The paper's headline credits Congressman Michaud for sponsoring an amendment requiring the U.S. Department of Defense to buy shoes made in Maine and other states instead of purchasing them from foreign competitors.
"By making it look like a news headline from a legitimate news source, it establishes an attempt to make it look like this is newsworthy and actually led to something meaningful," Bennett says.
Democrats agree there is no legitimate newspaper known as State News Service. There is, however, an online aggregator known as States News Service - not to be confused with the States News Service from the 1980s and 1990s that provided stories to Maine newspapers. Last year, the aggregator, received a news release from Congressman Michaud's office when the House passed Michaud's amendment. States News Service then redistributed the press release with a headline attributing the amendment to Michaud.
This year, Michaud's gubernatorial campaign incorporated the headline from that States News Service press release into its television ad outlining the congressman's efforts to get the military to buy from American companies - such as New Balance in Skowhegan. Bennett says it was an intentional attempt to mislead viewers.
"That means Michaud's campaign knew they were citing the congressman's very own press release and proceeded anyway presenting it to the people of Maine right at home on their TVs as an original news headline," Bennett says.
At the Michaud campaign, Communications Director Lizzy Reinholt says the graphic image in the ad depicting the States News Service headline was never meant to suggest it was a real newspaper. Instead, Reinholt says the Republican demands for television stations to pull the ad is another GOP attempt to distract from the positivity of Michaud's record with a baseless, negative accusation.
"We stand by our ad," Reinholt says. "The Republicans are just desperate to distract from the last four years of failed leadership and Gov. LePage and from their own misleading TV ads and mail pieces."
In fact, the Michaud campaign has asked Maine stations to pull an ad from the Republican Governor's Association that, with no attribution whatsoever, claims that the Democrat supports giving welfare to illegal immigrants. Reinholt says that not only is the claim is untrue, the allegation is being denounced in Maine media.
"Just this weekend, the Portland Press Herald called the Republican Governors Association ad against Congressman Michaud false, misleading and mean spirited and a willful distortion," Reinholt says. "The paper even went so far as to call the RGA to stop running the ad and Gov. LePage to denounce it. And yet, the GOP is trying to attack us on an ad that is 100 percent accurate, and even New Balance will stand by."
As of the airing of this broadcast, no Maine television stations have announced that they intend to pull any of the political ads.