The second U.S. Senate debate, hosted by the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, was held at the Augusta Civic Center on Oct. 30, 2024. From left to right, moderator Rob Caldwell of NEWS CENTER Maine, independent U.S. Sen. Angus King, Republican Demi Kouzounas, Democrat David Costello and independent Jason Cherry. (Photo via Maine State Chamber of Commerce)
It was a full house Wednesday night — both on stage and in the audience — as all four candidates running for one of Maine’s U.S. Senate seats participated in a live debate at the Augusta Civic Center.
Independent incumbent U.S. Sen. Angus King squared off with his challengers: Republican Demi Kouzounas, Democrat David Costello and independent Jason Cherry. The debate was moderated by Rob Caldwell of NEWS CENTER Maine at the annual meeting for the Maine State Chamber of Commerce.
The debate comes the day before in-person absentee voting wraps up in Maine. More than 300,000 absentee ballots have been returned as of Wednesday afternoon, according to data from the Maine Department of the Secretary of State.
The debate covered some similar ground as the candidates’ first debate Monday night, but moderators also asked questions about the electoral college, as well as the labor shortage and child care crisis.
Cherry wasn’t able to participate in Monday’s debate because he fell short of the polling threshold set by the hosts, WGME and the Bangor Daily News.
Electoral college, Supreme Court term limits
Calling it a “gun pointed at the head of democracy,” King said he would be in support of scrapping the Electoral College, the system by which the president and vice president of the United States are chosen.
Under that system, each state is given a number of electoral votes equal to how many members of Congress it has, and a candidate wins once they earn 270 electoral votes. Maine has four electoral votes, but is one of just two states that splits its votes based on who wins each congressional district.
Costello agreed with King, similarly calling the process undemocratic.
However, Kouzounas and Cherry opposed getting rid of the Electoral College, saying that it balances the power for less populous states like Maine.
The candidates were also asked about term limits for Supreme Court justices.
While three of the candidates did voice support for some sort of term limit for the highest court, Kouzounas said there should first be a discussion about term limits for Congress.
Costello also said he would like to see a limit requiring justices to retire by the age of 80.
Addressing the budget deficit
Candidates were asked how they would address the nation’s $1.9 trillion deficit.
Though she decried high government spending, Kouzounas didn’t provide specific cuts she would support to reduce those costs. Overall, she said the government needs to be more strategic with its spending.
Costello agreed the federal government should be smarter with its budget, but said he would like to do that by raising taxes on the wealthy.
US Senate candidates find common ground in first debate, but diverge on immigration, economy
“The wealthy in this country have had a tremendous ride,” he said, adding that he would like to see a more progressive income tax and a wealth tax on people who make more than $1 million.
Cherry too agreed that government spending is too high, but he also took issue with a tax code that allows some of the wealthiest citizens to get away with paying less than they should.
Similarly, King spoke of cracking down on people and corporations who are “downright cheating” by not paying taxes reflective of what they earn. However, he said healthcare costs are the real driver of the deficit and so would like to see Medicare take a more preventive approach to its coverage. For example, he said rather than paying tens of thousands of dollars for a hip surgery, Medicare could provide grab bars for people who are at a risk of falling to install in their showers.
Workforce shortage and housing
Before the business-focused crowd, the candidates shared their ideas on how to address the worker shortage that has been an issue across industries.
Cherry said he would like to see a “controlled immigration,” under which the government is more thoughtful about ensuring the infrastructure is there to bring in more people who can fill those jobs.
King similarly sees immigration reform as a means to addressing the labor shortage. Specifically, he mentioned altering the asylum process so people can work sooner after they enter the country. Rather than taking jobs from Americans, as many claim, he argued that a bigger base of immigrant workers preserves American jobs by ensuring that businesses don’t have to close or reduce their hours.
Additionally, King said he would like to see more training and upskilling to prepare people for the workforce, adding that free community college is one of the best things that’s happened in Maine to improve workers’ skills.
Costello echoed the need to fix what most people agree is a broken immigration system and do more to train apprentices and people for the trades. However, he also joined Kouzounas in drawing attention to the need to build more housing so that workers can come to Maine and find places to live.
There was consensus among the candidates that the federal government should do something to help reform building regulations that stand in the way of constructing the affordable housing that Maine and other parts of the country are lacking.
Child care struggles
The candidates were also asked how they would address the difficulty many families face trying to find child care.
Kouzounas spoke of a model that offers child care in conjunction with local high schools where students are also learning how to become child care providers. She said she sent one of her children to a similar program.
Similarly looking at schools for a solution, Costello and Cherry both said they support universal pre-k and aftercare. Costello said he would also like to implement a federal paid family and medical leave program.
King said there needs to be a way to entice people into child care and other professions hit hardest by the labor shortage. He also said child care will need to become a joint responsibility between the public and private sectors, where businesses offer it as a benefit similar to health insurance.
Political hero
With a minute to spare, the candidates were asked who their political heroes are.
Unlike his rivals who chose well-known political figures, Costello said his political hero is his grandmother. Cherry picked Thomas Jefferson while Kouzounas said Ronald Reagan.
“Abraham Lincoln said every political thought he ever had came from the Declaration of Independence,” King said. “Every political thought I ever had came from Abraham Lincoln.”
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