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| 📷 Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, stands in a subway car on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 9, 2022. (AP photo by Patrick Semansky) |
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💍 There is new worry for a Maine senator's bill protecting same-sex marriage.
◉ It has been unclear whether there is enough Republican support for the Senate to pass a measure negotiated in part by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, shielding the federal right to same-sex marriage from potential court challenges.
◉ While Collins cited "good progress" on the matter last week, Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, a key Republican supporter of the bill, told Politico this week that the votes are not there yet and members need more time to rally support.
◉ Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, has put the bill on track to face a Senate vote as soon as next week, although Collins and others have not yet released a religious freedom amendment aiming to assuage skeptical Republicans. The group met Wednesday to work on the measure.
◉ "I still think we can do this next week," Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, the chief sponsor of the bill, told Politico.
💸 The money battle in the governor's race is largely between two counterpart groups.
◉ The race between Gov. Janet Mills and former Gov. Paul LePage has already drawn $3.1 million in outside money, with about 98 percent of that coming from the Republican and Democratic governors associations.
◉ Those groups are playing slightly different roles in the race. The Maine Republican Party, mostly funded by the Republican Governors Association, ran the first pro-LePage ad in the campaign and can be seen as a slightly more integrated part of his apparatus as he faces a fundraising gap with Mills. It has spent more than $1.9 million on the governor's race this year.
◉ A Better Maine, the political group here run by the Democratic Governors Association, has spent nearly $1.1 million so far, including on a recent anti-LePage ad. Mills has run positive ads through her campaign so far. |
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What we're reading
🚤 You've read a lot about the "Seafood Watch" listing of lobsters. But what will it actually do to the industry? We've got you covered.
🐶 Nearly 1 in 6 Mainers continued to work mostly from home after the pandemic eased in 2021, signaling a permanent shift in American life.
📚 One of Maine's smallest and most rural university campuses is growing.
🎿 The backers of a $126 million ski resort planned for Piscataquis County won a major state permit, albeit with conditions that require them to complete it within five years.
🌳 The Maine native who founded Patagonia has renounced $3 billion in shares in the company, putting the company on track to use its profits to fight climate change. The move is unprecedented in the business world. |
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| ❌ Correction: Wednesday's newsletter contained incorrect references to state Rep. Dustin White, R-Mars Hill, on his hometown and status in the Legislature. He is term-limited from running again in 2022. |
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