MPBN Interviews Brewer About Gubernatorial Debates

University of Maine political scientist Mark Brewer spoke with the Maine Public Broadcasting Network for a report titled, “In Maine political debates, which candidates will be no-shows?” According to the report, Republican Gov. Paul LePage has declined to participate in several debates, and Democratic challenger Mike Michaud says he will only participate in a debate if LePage does. Meanwhile, 2nd District GOP candidate Bruce Poliquin says he will not participate in any debate that includes independent challenger Blaine Richardson, the report states. Brewer said LePage likely turned down MPBN’s debate invitation because he would change few opinions among the station’s more progressive audience. He also said Michaud’s reasons for declining debates might also be strategic. “If I were advising Michaud, the last thing I would want to do is to recommend that he go to participate in a debate where the other major party candidate is not there and then that lends further legitimacy to [independent candidate] Eliot Cutler.”