Good morning from Augusta. A week before the primary election, the seven Democrats vying for their party’s nomination squared off in another televised debate that showed they are in lockstep with each other on many major issues, but apparent leaders in the race are clashing.
The talking points haven’t changed. The hour-long debate hosted by WMTWfocused on health care, addiction, education and the economy — just like most any gubernatorial debate — and for the most part had candidates answering questions within their own silos and without pushback from moderators or other candidates. However, Attorney General Janet Mills and attorney Adam Cotecontinued a clash over gun control that has been simmering for weeks.
It’s not the policy that the disagree on, it’s the past. Both of them and all the Democrats say they agree on basic gun control measures such as a ban on bump stocks, universal background checks and allowing courts to seize guns from certain offenders. Mills opened the conversation by sharing a story about incident in which she said a former boyfriend had once held a gun to her head while he was drunk.
The tension point between Cote and Mills is whether Mills has been strong enough on gun control measures in the past. As a legislator, she received favorable ratings from the National Rifle Association. “You got three endorsements from the NRA,” argued Cote.
The County is pleased to feature content from our sister company, Bangor Daily News. To read the rest of “Gun talk continues to shape Maine Democrats’ race to replace LePage,” an article by contributing Bangor Daily News staff writer Christopher Cousins, please follow this link to the BDN online.
