AUGUSTA, Maine - The Maine GOP has chosen the officials who will lead the party through a climate of Democratic control in the legislature and the Blaine House.
The Maine Republican party again chose Demi Kouzounas, a dentist and small business owner from Saco, to chair the Maine Republican Party. She says the nation is at a "turning point" and the party is focused on "winning in 2020."
But there's a new vice-chair. Waterville mayor Nick Isgro replaces Ryan Lorrain, also of Waterville, as the party's second in command.
"I'm ready to take the fight to the left," says Isgro in a statement, "We can support good ideas and progress for the American people, but we must never give in to the destructive agenda of the radical left. I'm excited to join the team, and take this fight to every corner of the state."
Isgro has been the subject of controversy over comments he has posted to his social media accounts, including an insulting tweet to a Parkland School shooting survivor. Isgro also survived an attempt to remove him as Waterville's mayor.
Republicans took significant losses at the ballot box in November, with the party's candidates for Maine governor and US Senate defeated by a comfortable margin. The party also lost a bitter battle over the Second District US House seat, with former Republican Congressman Bruce Poliquin losing to Democrat Jared Golden, via Maine's new ranked choice voting method.
Maine Democratic Party Chair, Phil Bartlett commented on Saturday that with the addition of Isgro to Republican leadership, Maine GOP appears to be "doubling down" on the very strategy and "rhetoric" that led to its losses in November.
