Good morning from Augusta. There are 34 days until the November election. It’s the end of September. Here’s your soundtrack.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Trump brought the chaotic nature of his presidency to the debate stage,” Alex Conant, a Republican strategist, said of President Donald Trump’s performance in Tuesday’s first meeting with Joe Biden. “He needed to knock Biden off his game, but he may have just reminded independent voters why they’ve turned against him.”

What we’re watching today

Maine’s ethics watchdog will meet today with a full quorum, something that has prevented it from carrying out key duties at times this year. That full quorum means a full docket that is largely focused on two competitive legislative races plus a long-standing charge against Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon, D-Freeport, as she faces U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, plus some leftover complaints from the July 14 primary. 

Three spots were open on the five-member commission until the Maine Senate recently acted to fill the openings with former Attorney General William Schneider, former state Sen. David Hastings and Hampden Town Councilor Dennis Marble. 

The staff is split on two complaints focusing around some of the more high-profile races in the Legislature. Telephone and online surveys being conducted in the race between Senate Minority Leader Dana Dow, R-Waldoboro, and Rep. Chloe Maxmin, D-Nobleboro, look a lot like push polling, a campaign tactic designed to discourage support for a candidate.

It is unclear who is funding the polling, but Maine law has strict criteria for what counts as push polling, and it is not clear if this meets all of those requirements. Commission staff have recommended undertaking further investigation to get to the bottom of the issue, which could be a challenge. Commissioners must authorize that action of Wednesday.

Staff took a dimmer view, however, of another complaint against Assistant House Minority Leader Trey Stewart, R-Presque Isle, that alleges he misused campaign finance laws to reimburse himself for tires and clothes from Target in 2018 and 2019 through his political action committee. It comes as Stewart challenges Sen. Michael Carpenter, D-Houlton. 

But the commission’s executive director, Jonathan Wayne, urged commissioners to take a narrow view of the law concerning PAC payments, which do not prohibit clothing or tire purchases. While lawmakers have been criticized before for expenses, the law is permissive.

The commission may not act on the complaint against Gideon. On that complaint dealing with Facebook ads purchased in 2018, the commission’s staff has recommended no further action. The Maine Republican Party complained back in January that Gideon’s now-shuttered state-level PAC failed to report spending on some ads, but staff determined that the money was spent — and reported — by a different group, and that the ads did not qualify as election spending. The commission votes today on whether to follow that recommendation.

The Maine politics top 3

— “Maine’s 1st openly trans person elected to office wants to keep Passamaquoddy culture ‘front and center’,” Emily Burnham, Bangor Daily News: “After winning the election, in which they received the most votes out of all those running, [Geo] Neptune received mostly positive comments as word of their election spread through the state and the country. But Neptune did receive a number of negative, hateful comments from outside the Indian Township community, demeaning their trans, two-spirit identity. Neptune said that members of their community were shocked to hear such cruel language, and they had to explain to people that comments like those are par for the course for most trans people.”

— “How Maine’s US Senate candidates want to fight a worsening opioid crisis,” Jessica Piper, BDN: “Maine has been among the states hit hardest by the opioid epidemic, ranking ninth among states in per-capita deaths in 2018. … The four candidates have framed the epidemic in different terms when considering the public health and law enforcement responses, though they support some similar policies.”

The top political strategist for a national pro-business group cited Maine’s U.S. Senate race as one of the reasons for his departure on Tuesday. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has backed Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in her targeted 2020 reelection race with House Speaker Gideon fired consultant Scott Reed, a longtime Republican political adviser. Reed said he was planning to leave the organization anyway because the chamber “would not let me spend Senate money down the home stretch in North Carolina and Maine,” the Washington Post reported. The chamber has already spent $610,000 to boost Collins in the race, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

— “Maine could lose two-thirds of hotels without new federal stimulus, survey finds,” Lori Valigra, BDN: “The pandemic-strapped hotel industry is on the brink of national collapse with Maine standing to lose two-thirds of hotels and direct lodging jobs if Congress doesn’t approve more aid soon, according to a survey released Tuesday by a national hotel association.”

The leading congressional Democrat and a Trump lieutenant are talking about a pre-election stimulus deal, but there are hurdles. As hospitality groups and many others push for aid, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have been talking frequently in recent days as House Democrats released a $2.2 trillion plan of their own that is likely still too high for Republicans, according to CNN. Pelosi is under pressure from members of her caucus — including U.S. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine’s 2nd District — to cut a deal that can pass the Senate and be signed by Trump.

Today’s Daily Brief was written by Michael Shepherd, Jessica Piper and Caitlin Andrews. If you’re reading this on the BDN’s website or were forwarded it, email clumm@bangordailynews.com (we’re setting up a new subscriber page soon) to subscribe to it via email.

To reach us, do not reply directly to this newsletter, but contact the political team at mshepherd@bangordailynews.com, candrews@bangordailynews.com or jpiper@bangordailynews.com.