How Maine's gubernatorial candidates say they would lower costs
AUGUSTA, Maine (WGME) -- Many Mainers are struggling with high fuel prices, food costs, and higher rents and home prices.
Maine Democrats blame the Trump administration for these problems, while Republicans say policies under the Mills administration are to blame.
The three candidates for governor are weighing in on the steps they would take to improve the lives of Mainers.
Republican state lawmakers have long argued Democrats spend too much of your tax dollars.
Republican Bobby Charles agrees.
"We live in a state with compound problems. Very high taxes. Very high spending. We have energy costs that are through the roof, some of the highest in the country. And we have a housing crisis. These are not unrelated crises. They all go to a systemic problem," Charles said.
Independent Rick Bennett, a former Republican lawmaker, agrees it's time to cut spending, with a budget that went from $14.5 billion in 2024-25 to nearly $16 billion in the current biennium.
"We haven't had a public hearing on the budget in the Legislature in six years. And people wonder why our state spending has increased 77%. It's because nobody's looking at it," Bennett said.
However, Democrat Hannah Pingree says with Trump administration cuts to Medicaid, schools, public health and more, state leaders have no choice but to spend more money to help struggling Mainers.
And Republicans in Congress may soon vote to cut rental assistance to as many as 3.7 million Americans, while out-of-state private equity firms keep raising rent on Maine properties they buy.
"We need to crack down on private equity and some of the private investors that are displacing Mainers from their homes. They've been buying up mobile home parks. They've been raising rents. They've been making it more difficult for people to stay in their homes," Pingree said.
Charles argues high taxes are what's driving people out of their homes.
"You have to lower the property taxes. You have to roll back a lot of the unfunded mandates that have pushed the property taxes so high. And you need to get back to common sense," Charles said.
"Nothing else works in the state of Maine if we don't have the housing that allows our workforce to be successful," Pingree said.
"This is Maine. We're 1.4 million people. We should build off of our common values, not the things that divide us," Bennett said.
The economy is likely to carry significant weight in the upcoming election. The question facing many voters is who they believe can lower costs in Maine.