Last week, Republican Gov. Paul LePage predicted that he could win reelection over Democrat Mike Michaud -- even if independent Eliot Cutler dropped out of the race. But after spending nearly $5 million on LePage's behalf, the Republican Governors Association isn't taking any chances.
The RGA has launched a new TV ad attacking Michaud, and at the same time bolstering at least some support for Cutler.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCM6nKjmOEQ&feature=em-uploademail
The race is believed to be so close that most pollsters say LePage can't win if Cutler's numbers fall into the single digits on Election Day. So the RGA has released a new ad that attacks Michaud for voting in favor of a tax on Social Security while serving in the Maine Legislature.
The same ad also compliments former Gov. Angus King and Cutler.
"It was such a bad idea that then Gov. Angus King vetoed it," says the ad's narrator. "No wonder independent King now endorses Eliot Cutler."
The ad attempts to dissuade independent Maine voters who might be inclined to vote for Michaud to side with Cutler instead.
Patrick Murphy, president of Pan Atlantic SMS, released a new poll today that shows Michaud and LePage tied at 40 percent, with Cutler trailing at 13 percent. Murphy says his findings, and the last-minute spending by the RGA on Cutler's behalf, serve as indicators that the GOP is relying on Cutler supporters to deliver a win for LePage.
"So anything that the Republicans can do to - if you like - prop him up and take votes away from Michaud obviously makes sense from their point of view," Murphy says.
Democratic leaders warned viewers not to be fooled by what they called a "sneaky GOP tactic." But Murphy says Mainers are quickly coming arund to the fact that tactical third-party ads, such as this one, are representative of today's bare-knuckle politics.
CORRECTION: Paul LePage and Mike Michaud are tied with 40 percent support, not Michaud and Eliot Cutler.
