Republican 1st District Congressional candidate Dean Scontras joined Gubernatorial candidate Paul LePage on the Maine Eastern Railroad for a four-town whistle stop tour July 24.
Over 80 campaign donors paid for the privilege to join the candidates on the Rockland to Brunswick trip. The multi-town trip underscored an effort by the GOP to seize the initiative as both parties gear up for a final push into November.
“We thought this was a great way to break up the summer doldrums politically,” said Mary Adams, Press Assistant for the Paul LePage Campaign and Chairman of Maine Tax Watch.
Tickets for the train ride were sold by the Committee to Elect Paul LePage. Seat prices ranged from $100 to $750. LePage extended an invitation for the Scontras campaign to join him on the “LePage Express” during his trip up and down the coast. The event was billed as a fundraiser, but organizers, noting the cost of renting the train for the day, recognized that the event was not entirely about raising money.
“It was a home run regarding publicity,” said Adams.
“This was more about PR than the money,” said Kim Lindlof, finance director for the LePage Campaign.
The tour began and ended in Rockland after making stops in Wiscasset, Brunswick, and Bath. Greeted by three-man brass band at each stop, both LePage and Scontras rallied the audience with fiery speeches denouncing Obamacare and perceived attacks on personal liberties by the federal government.
“Usually it’s the soldier that fights for freedom, this time it’s our time!” yelled Scontras to an energetic crowd in Bath.
Though it was billed as a GOP event, the Maine Tea Party made a visible presence in both the train and crowd. “Don’t Tread on Me” flags mixed with the occasional cry of “Nullification!” and “Repeal!” at the mention of “Obamacare.” All concession sales on the train went to the Maine Tea Party.
In interviews with the press, however, both candidates appeared to distance themselves from the movement.
“I don’t know much about the Tea Party, but if they support me, I support them,” said LePage. In a interview later in the day, however, LePage expressed knowledge of the movement, and recognized policy agreements, but claimed that he doesn’t go out of his way to reach out to them in a manner that some suggest.
“They adopted me instead of me seeking them out,” said LePage.
He compared the Tea Party movement to the Nixon’s “Silent Majority” of the 1970s and criticized the NCAAP for their allegations of racism against the Tea Party. Both LePage and Scontras described the movement as a group of independents unrepresented by the Democrats or Republicans.
“The bulk of the [tea partiers] are independent, have never been involved in politics, and they’re stepping up and saying, ‘The government is taking over my life, I need to fight back,'” said LePage
Scontras and LePage simultaneously distanced themselves from the traditional GOP leaders, criticizing past Republican congresses on fiscal issues and brandishing libertarian credentials.
“I’m probably more libertarian than conservative,” said LePage, “I believe in small state government and decentralized central government.”
Scontras said he was “unexcited” by the leadership of the Republican Party.
Those at the rally and on the train echoed these sentiments. Many considered themselves independents rather than Republicans, concerned with the size of government and the ballooning federal and state deficits.
One train passenger, Mary Olson, of Waldoboro, cited the government’s increasing role in healthcare and the state’s fiscal situation as her reasons for helping the LePage campaign.
“I love the way he looks at healthcare,” said Olson, who was there with there with her family, “He wants people to give toward society rather than take from it.”
She added that the state’s method of handling of finances, “pays people more a year for the same result.”
Olson first got involved with the LePage campaign after her daughter, Abigail, encouraged her to get involved. Olson, like many of the people at Saturday’s events, is volunteering on a political campaign for the first time.
Lisa Hunt, a social worker from Newcastle, said she supported LePage because he was an honest, independent civil servant rather than a traditional Republican candidate.
“He’s not a party candidate,” Hunt said, “Republicans have screwed up. We need honest civil servants, not politicians.”
Recent polls show that LePage’s appeal to such independent, Tea Party voters may be carrying him to victory: According to recent a Rasmussen Reports poll, LePage holds a 7-8 percent lead over Democratic challenger State Senator Libby Mitchell and independent candidate Eliot Cutler. No head to head polls have been conducted in the 1st District’s congressional race.
