AUGUSTA — Two candidates running for governor released their proposals Tuesday for debates ahead of the November election.
Republican Bobby Charles is challenging his rivals to five town hall-style debates. Democrat Hannah Pingree announced a slate of four televised debates sponsored by local news outlets.
“Mainers deserve to hear directly from all of us about how we’d govern,” Pingree said in a statement. “I know I’ll be focusing on how my administration will bring down housing and health care costs and make life more affordable.”
Charles proposed debates in communities facing specific problems. For example, he wants to debate crime and public safety in Bangor, immigration and border security in Lewiston and the state budget in Augusta.
The list includes a stop in Aroostook County to answer questions about economic growth and taxation and southern Maine to discuss housing and property taxes.
“We need to be among average people, hardworking families, retirees, the folks living these issues every day, not hiding behind political moderators in a studio,” Charles said in a statement. “That’s why I’m proposing five debates, each in the community that knows the issue best.”
In response to Charles’ proposed town hall, independent candidate Rick Bennett said he’d go even further.
“Why five? Sixteen is better,” Bennett said in a statement. “Every county matters and every Mainer deserves the chance to hear directly from the people asking to lead this state. I’m ready to show up anywhere, answer any question, and talk honestly about how we lower costs, restore trust and make Maine work again.”
All are gearing up to face each other on the Nov. 3 ballot.
During the GOP primary, Charles skipped a couple of televised debates, drawing the ire of fellow candidates who repeatedly criticized him for failing to attend.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Charles campaign said it believes voters will benefit from seeing candidates in a “format closer to the Lincoln-Douglas debates of the 19th century” rather than traditional television debates.
“Every election cycle, Mainers get the same thing,” Charles said. “One or two debates in a studio somewhere, ninety second answers, and a moderator more interested in gotcha questions than real solutions.”
According to the Pingree campaign, News Center Maine and the Maine State Chamber of Commerce will host a debate Oct. 1, followed by WGME/Fox 23 on Oct. 13, WMTW Oct. 14 and Maine Public/Maine Trust for Local News at a date still to be determined.