Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

2nd Congressional District race

September 13, 2012

Michaud resists campaigning; Raye goes on attack

Incumbent quiet about race during tour of New Balance; GOP challenger visits Clinton farm, blasts Michaud's business rating

By Ben McCanna bmccanna@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

Even as incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud resisted campaigning Thursday during a shoe factory tour in Norridgewock with a trade ambassador, challenger Kevin Raye went on the attack as he visited a farm in Clinton.

Raye, the Republican state Senate president, visited the Flood Brothers dairy farm in Clinton and said his campaign would focus on agriculture and small businesses.

He touted his recent endorsement by the National Federation of Independent Businesses and noted that the organization gave Michaud, a five-term incumbent Democrat, a rating of zero. Michaud's campaign has dismissed the rating, calling the organization partisan and partly funded by Republican strategist Karl Rove.

Raye pounced on Michaud's assessment, saying the group recently awarded its Guardian of Small Business award to eight members of the Blue Dog Coalition, a 25-member conservative Democratic group to which Michaud belongs. Another nine Blue Dogs scored a rating of 50 percent or more with NFIB, but Michaud was one of just two Blue Dogs scoring a zero -- the other was Rep. Mike Thompson, D-California.

"He is outside the mainstream," Raye said of Michaud. "His record in office is not consistent with the record of a Blue Dog Democrat. He has not been one of the people who has been at the forefront of working across party lines and making Washington work. He has voted with his party 93 percent of the time over the past 10 years."

Raye also cited Michaud's 11 percent rating from the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Michaud on Thursday morning introduced U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk as part of a tour of the New Balance athletic shoe factory in Norridgewock. Michaud, wearing a navy blue suit, salmon tie and gray New Balance sneakers, later said his visit was not a campaign stop and he wouldn't specify when he would start actively campaigning for re-election.

"It's hard to say. It depends on my congressional schedule," Michaud said.

Michaud was scheduled to take an afternoon flight to Washington, D.C., and he noted while introducing Kirk that he was missing votes. "I'll take whatever lumps I have to," he said. "This is too important."

Although Michaud distanced himself from active politicking, his campaign sent out a news release Thursday afternoon blasting Raye. The release says Michaud's 11 percent rating from the American Farm Bureau Federation was based on 10 votes and that Michaud voted in favor of Maine's interests, which hurt his national ranking.

"While Mike Michaud was in Norridgewock fighting for Maine jobs, his opponent was touting numbers from an organization that supports a partnership that would directly hurt Maine businesses," campaign spokesman Dan Cashman said in the release. "That is a stark difference between the two candidates in terms of staying focused on what makes a difference for Maine families.

"Kevin's negative campaign is what's wrong with politics today — it's based on soundbites and misrepresentations, not what is best for Maine."

Raye's farm tour

Earlier in the day, during a visit to Maine's largest dairy farm, Raye listened to the concerns of Flood Brothers employees and called attention to his support for Maine agriculture and small businesses.

Jenni Tilton-Flood, who led a tour of the farm's milking parlor and hay fields, said the high cost of fuel is the primary concern at Flood Brothers. Its fleet of tractors holds thousands of gallons of diesel, she said, and the increasing costs affect local farming and all areas of the economy.

(Continued on page 2)

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