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A4 U.S. NEWS
Tuesday 25 June 2019

A top Maine Democrat announces bid to unseat Sen. Collins

By MARINA VILLENEUVE Collins, first elected in 1996, Maine GOP Chair Demi
Associated Press is expected to run for an- Kouzounas said Gideon
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — other term but has yet to is “eyeing Maine families’
The Democratic speaker formally announce her bank accounts to fund her
of the Maine House of Rep- candidacy. extreme policy proposals.”
resentatives announced Collins cruised to re-elec- Republican National Com-
Monday that she is chal- tion in 2014 and has long mittee spokesperson Nina
lenging longtime Repub- been viewed as a moder- McLaughlin called Gideon
lican U.S. Sen. Susan Col- ate Republican. Liberals a “rubber stamp” for Sen-
lins, who has found her set up a fund to help try to ate Minority Leader Chuck
long-standing image as a unseat her after she voted Schumer, who represents
moderate sympathetic to to confirm President Don- New York.
abortion rights under fire in ald Trump’s Supreme Court “From leading a corrupt
an increasingly polarized selection Brett Kavanaugh caucus, to her inability to
Washington. last year. work across party lines even
Rep. Sara Gideon, of Free- The fund has raised more though she touted her abil-
port, who has been the than $4 million amid fear ity to do so, Sara Gideon is
In this March 14, 2019 file photo, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, speaker for the past two from liberals that Kavana- just another far left Demo-
smiles at the Capitol in Washington, after the Senate passed terms, has already made ugh will vote to severely crat who won’t rest until
a resolution to terminate President Trump’s declaration of an access to abortion a cen- weaken access to abortion. she can give Mainers’ voic-
emergency at the Southern border. tral focus of her campaign. Gideon’s website pledges es and votes to New York,”
Associated Press
to “put Maine First” and McLaughlin said.
says she has “always stood Republicans are also point-
up for a right to choose.” ing to Gideon’s support of
The newly Democratic-led bills to provide assistance
Legislature in Maine this to noncitizens and switch
year has passed laws to al- from the Electoral College
low state Medicaid funding to a national popular vote.
for abortions, and to allow The voting bill died, while
advanced clinicians such lawmakers pushed back a
as nurse practitioners to decision on the welfare bill.
perform abortions. Progressive activist Betsy
Gideon, is also touting leg- Sweet has also announced
islation to protect afford- a run against Collins.
able health care cover- Collins reported in April that
age amid efforts to repeal she has $3.8 million on hand
former President Barack as she gears up for the 2020
Obama’s signature health election.
law. Maine lawmakers Collins’ campaign noted
this year passed bills aim- that Democrats still have
ing to lower prescription a year to go ahead of the
drug costs and ensure that June primary. Maine law-
Obamacare protections makers this year passed
for individuals with pre- a law to change from a
existing conditions are en- presidential caucus to a
shrined in state law. statewide primary that sup-
“At one point, maybe Sen. porters say will get more
Collins was different, but voters involved. “One of
she doesn’t seem that way the reasons why Senator
anymore: taking over a mil- Collins has been so effec-
lion dollars from drug com- tive is that she has more se-
panies and the insurance niority than any U.S. senator
industry and voting to put from Maine over the past
Brett Kavanaugh on the Su- 70 years,” said Kevin Kelley,
preme Court,” Gideon said spokesman for Collins for
in a video. Senator. “She will continue
Republicans in Maine and to build on her record of
elsewhere immediately be- extraor dinary accomplish-
gan trying to paint Gideon ments for the people of
as a “far left” Democrat. Maine.”q