Angus King’s opponents want him to commit to at least 5 debates

24 June 2024

The candidates challenging U.S. Sen. Angus King said they will commit to debates beginning this summer, but Maine’s independent senator said most voters are “not asking for a constant campaign to start” before fall.

King, a former governor who caucuses with Democrats, has ranked high in surveys on America’s most popular senators and is the clear favorite to win a third term in November. The 80-year-old would become the oldest person to ever represent Maine in the Senate if he wins.

King’s three general election opponents, Democrat David Costello, Republican Demi Kouzounas and independent Jason Cherry, want to hold him to debates early in a nod to his status as the favorite. King did a normal debate schedule the last time he ran in 2018. Media outlets that host debates — and not campaigns — generally initiate the process.

Costello, who lives in Brunswick and who ran for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District in 2002, proposed holding five debates from July to October in Presque Isle, Bangor, Lewiston, Portland and Biddeford. Campaign spokesperson Benson Offit said additional specifics, such as on any organizations that would host the debates, are not yet available. 

Costello, 64, who previously worked overseas for the U.S. government and as an aide for government leaders in Maryland, said Mainers want to hear candidates discuss the “high level of political gridlock and dysfunction in Washington.”

“As the only candidate prepared to tackle immigration, inflation, and challenge the broken status quo of the Washington elites, Demi Kouzounas believes five debates should be the floor, not the ceiling,” Kouzounas spokesperson Jack Cianchette said.

Cherry, an attorney and retired FBI agent from Unity, said he would be honored to participate in debates, calling it “an excellent way to provide owners of government an ability to make an informed decision.”

In a statement, King did not explicitly commit to participating in the schedule Costello proposed. He said he would participate in debates during the fall but will be talking to voters over the summer about issues including the cost of living, affordable housing and energy.

Kouzounas, a Saco dentist, chaired the Maine Republican Party from 2017 to 2023, when she was ousted following a poor showing for the party. Kouzounas, 68, announced her run in January, saying U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, called her to encourage her to run. King replied he was “disappointed” that Collins helped recruit a challenger.

Cherry, 54, has proposed setting term limits of 20 years and age limits of 80 years for government officials while focusing on protecting Social Security benefits and turning the U.S. Department of Justice into an electable branch.

King became Maine’s second-ever independent governor when he was elected in 1994. He easily won election to the Senate in 2012 after the retirement of U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe and breezed to reelection in 2018. During that race, he said that campaign would likely be his last before deciding in 2022 to seek another term.

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