The BDN Editorial Board operates independently from the newsroom, and does not set policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com.
Republican voters in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District have the choice of two state lawmakers in the party’s primary on June 11. First term Reps. Austin Theriault and Mike Soboleski are running against one another to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, who is seeking his fourth term in the U.S. House, in November.
Both men strongly support former President Donald Trump, which appears to be an unfortunate prerequisite in today’s Republican Party. Theriault, a former race car driver from Fort Kent, has been endorsed by Trump. Both Theriault and Soboleski rattle off top Republican agenda items such as strengthening security at the U.S. border and opposing further federal restrictions on guns.
As the BDN editorial board typically does, we invite candidates for statewide or federal office to meet with us. We ask about their positions on issues and their priorities if elected.
In the 2nd District, only Soboleski accepted our invitation. Theriault’s campaign, which seems to be already looking ahead — before the primary votes are counted — to an assumed match-up with Golden, declined.
This is unfortunate. We realize that it is a common Republican tactic to rebuff the media and to create an adversarial relationship with journalists. But this isn’t about journalists; it is about voters. BDN endorsements are one more piece of information to help voters decide who they will vote for. When one candidate sits out these meetings, we have less information to share with our readers in the 2nd District. This is especially unfortunate because neither Theriault nor Soboleski has an issues section on their campaign websites.
That leaves us to consider Soboleski, a Marine Corps veteran and former actor who lives in Phillips, who joined us recently for a wide-ranging conversation.
In Augusta, Soboleski was a co-sponsor of legislation to allow the mining of metals like lithium in Maine and he sponsored a bill to make rules regarding electric vehicles subject to legislative oversight. Both bills became law. He also strongly advocated for successful legislation to delay some parts of Maine’s PFAS reporting law, which many businesses said was too broad.
While we found Soboleski’s unwavering support of Trump, his minimizing of the events of Jan. 6, 2021, as the actions of “a few bad apples” and his emphasis on drilling for more fossil fuels over development of renewable energy problematic, we appreciated his call for better treatment of military veterans. His proposal for a program and funding to better help those leaving the military transition to civilian life should be strongly considered.
One clear area of difference between the two candidates is around substance use and the state’s opioid crisis, which claimed more than 600 lives last year. Theriault has been supportive of safe-injection sites, an idea that the BDN has been hesitant about in the past but has recently been reconsidering given the need to do whatever possible to save lives. Soboleski leaned heavily on abstinence, while also calling for more treatment.
Maine’s 2nd District is considered a toss up by some political analysts. In the 2016 and 2020 elections, the district supported Trump. Yet, Golden has won the district three times.
The June 11 election is a semi-open primary, meaning that unenrolled voters can cast a ballot in one party primary. It remains to be seen how many of these voters show up for this primary, where early voting is already occurring.
Voters in the 2nd District primary have a choice between two conservatives who largely line up with national Republican Party positions and talking points. Only one of those candidates, Soboleski, was willing to talk with and answer questions from the BDN editorial board.
That earns respect in our book.