Democratic Governors Association: LePage Announces His Campaign Promising to Return to His Old Antics of Fighting Against Health Care Coverage

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 -- The Democratic Governors Association issued the following news:

In a thirty-minute-long ramble to a mostly maskless crowd, Paul LePage officially announced he's running for governor (again) after leaving office as one of the most unpopular governors in Maine's modern history. So what is he offering to Maine voters that's new this time around? Pretty much nothing. Instead, LePage spent his announcement bragging about his record of denying people access to health care coverage and vowed to return to his old antics if elected.

LePage falsely characterized Medicaid as "welfare" while attempting to argue that increasing access to affordable health care coverage for thousands, as Gov. Mills has championed and implemented, is actually a bad thing -- a crass, degrading characteristic that he used before when he blocked MaineCare expansion for years.

As governor, LePage proved time and time again that he couldn't care less about protecting the health and safety of his constituents. In vetoing multiple bills designed to address the opioid epidemic, LePage justified the move by saying, "they're just going to die."

In his announcement, LePage went on to boast how he shrunk government through attrition, a move that gutted Maine's public health apparatus when he refused to fill vacancies at the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, like hiring public health nurses, which would have left the state entirely unprepared for the coronavirus.

Immediately upon taking office, Gov. Mills took action to reverse the damage done by Paul LePage. She expanded health care to now more than 80,000 people and began to fill vital state government positions that LePage left vacant -- including at the Maine CDC --all without raising taxes. Throughout the pandemic, Mills not only took swift action to stop the spread of COVID-19 and save lives but she spearheaded effective recovery efforts to build back a stronger economy.

"Paul LePage actively fought to deny people health care coverage and decimated state government, refusing to fill vital public health positions," said DGA Senior Communications Advisor Christina Amestoy. "Now, LePage is promising to bring this dangerous, out-of-touch agenda roaring back and undo the enormous progress made under Gov. Mills. A LePage governorship would put the health and safety of thousands of Maine people at risk at a time when the stakes have never been higher. Maine can't afford another four years of Paul LePage."