Oxford County GOP Announces Plans to Host Maine CD-2 Primary Debate

The Oxford County Republican Committee announced Tuesday that they plan to host a debate for the 2024 Maine Second Congressional District Primary scheduled for Saturday, April 20, a week ahead of the Republican state convention.

The debate, which aims to draw up to 300 attendees, is set to be held at the American Legion Jackson-Silver Post 68 Hall in Greenwood, and to be moderated by Steve Robinson, Editor-in-Chief of the Maine Wire.

Both candidates, State Reps. Mike Soboleski (R-Phillips) and Austin Theriault (R-Fort Kent), have been invited to attend the debate to answer questions before CD-2 voters in Oxford County.

“The CD2 Republican primary will be in full swing by April 20th and it’s right before the Maine Republican state convention. We wanted attendees to hear from both candidates at the debate before the convention so that they know where they stand and can ask them follow-up questions in person when they see them at the GOP Convention,” Oxford County Republican Committee Chair Joe Martin said Tuesday.

“This will be our primary fundraiser before the political season goes into full swing. We are really hoping to fill every seat in the place and sell tickets and concessions to help us support our candidates in the Fall,” Martin said. “This is a big deal for Oxford County Republicans and we are thrilled to be able to put it on for our voters as they choose their guy for the CD2 Primary.”

Rep. Soboleski accepted the invitation to the April debate in a post to X Tuesday morning.

“I wholeheartedly accept the invitation,” Soboleski wrote. “I can’t wait to get on the debate stage! Let’s talk about issues!”

I just heard Oxford County Chair Joe Martin on GHRT say they are hosting a CD2 debate in Oxford County on April 20th. I wholeheartedly accept the invitation. I can't wait to get on the debate stage! Let's talk about issues!

— Mike Soboleski for Congress (@mike_soboleski) February 20, 2024

Rep. Theriault’s campaign, which first proposed a series of three debates against Soboleski in December, said in a Tuesday statement that they are looking forward to debating.

“There are many folks and groups reaching out to host debates, which is why the Maine Republican Party has agreed to coordinate debates,” the Theriault campaign stated. “We encourage anyone who wants to host a debate to reach out to the Maine Republican Party to streamline the process and give Maine Republicans the best chance to make an informed decision.”

The Oxford County GOP said they will release more details on the time and ticket price for the April 20 debate in the coming days.

The tone of the 2024 Republican CD-2 primary race has taken a combative turn in recent weeks, with both Theriault and Soboleski trading jabs at each other during stump speeches at county GOP caucuses.

At the Feb. 2 Waldo County GOP caucus, Soboleski, who boasts a 100 percent conservative voting record rating from the Conservative Political Action Committee, attacked his fellow first-term Republican lawmaker Theriault over his votes on bills related to phasing out the state income tax, safe injection sites, prostitution, and a major wind power development in Aroostook County.

Read more on the state of the 2024 CD2 Republican primary race: Exotic Dancers, Tax Liens & Debauchery: Maine’s CD2 Republican Primary Is Getting Fiery…

The following week, at a Washington County GOP meeting in Calais, Theriault opened his stump speech by hitting back at Soboleski, saying his opponent was “aggressively lying” about his voting record out of desperation.

Theriault also accused Soboleski of having five unresolved tax liens against him while serving in the legislature, and alleged that Soboleski failed to tell voters that he “owned a bar that hosted male exotic dancers back in the 1990s.”

While Soboleski has beaten Theriault in CD-2 primary straw polls in Penobscot, Androscoggin, Waldo, and Franklin Counties, Theriault outraised Soboleski by about a ten-to-one ratio by the end of 2023 — touting contributions from well-known Maine names like Linda Bean, David Quirk, Shawn Moody, and Tim Dysart.

[RELATED: Maine CD-2 Challenger Austin Theriault Collects Over $350,000 in Donations Through End of 2023…]

Theriault has also received several endorsements from prominent national Republicans, including from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Chair of the House Republican Conference Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), and most recently from House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.)

“Thrilled to have Austin Theriault, a strong conservative from a French-Catholic family in northern Maine, running to represent Maine’s 2nd District,” Scalise said in a statement to Fox News Tuesday. “We badly need more conservative fighters who understand rural America in Congress, and Austin fits the bill perfectly. That’s why he has my complete and total endorsement.”

Whichever of the two candidates comes out on top after the June 11 primary will challenge incumbent Democratic Congressman Jared Golden in November, whose approval ratings hit a low of 27 percent last fall among CD-2 voters, according to a Critical Insights poll — down from 56 percent in the fall of 2020.

Prominent election forecaster the Cook Political Report moved Maine’s 2024 2nd District race to a “Democrat Toss Up” designation in November following Golden’s flip-flop on an assault weapons ban.