Maine Republicans play Trump card in uphill battle to unseat Angus King

6 years ago

Good morning from Augusta, where Republicans are hoping for a campaign boost from the White House as President Donald Trump‘s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., will visit Portland today for a state GOP fundraising event.

The private event is mostly aimed at a U.S. Senate race, but the fundraising will help Republicans down the ticket. The event is largely aimed at boosting state Sen. Eric Brakey’s run to unseat Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats. Democrat Zak Ringelstein of Falmouth is also running. Brakey is seen as a longshot, but he has national connections that have already drawn U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, to Maine as well.

When the president’s son was in Maine in during the 2016 campaign, he said Republicans who didn’t publicly support the senior Trump — a group that included U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and Rep. Bruce Poliquin of the 2nd District at that time — were “just protecting themselves and the little environment they’ve created.”

To read the rest of “Maine Republicans play Trump card in uphill battle to unseat Angus King,” an article by contributing Bangor Daily News staff writer Michael Shepherd, please follow this link to the BDN online.