Former Gov. Paul LePage markedly steered away from discussing abortion measures at a campaign stop in Windham on Tuesday four days after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending constitutional protections for abortion.
The Republican gubernatorial candidate said if he’s elected, he’ll focus on the economy, energy, policing, children and fixing the state’s health care system. “I don’t have time for abortion,” he said, according to a video posted to Twitter by NewsCenter Maine reporter Jackie Mundry.
“There’s just so much that needs to be done that to me is critical for all Mainers. Abortion affects few,” LePage said.
While LePage regularly attended anti-abortion rallies during his tenure and said during his 2014 reelection campaign that he opposed “killing babies as a form of contraception” as a dig at Planned Parenthood, his 2022 platform has not outlined a clear strategy to address abortion access concerns.
He offered a roundabout statement on abortion on May 3 that reiterated his own anti-abortion stance, along with saying that late-term abortions are “disturbing to most people,” but a spokesperson for LePage did not elaborate on how that could be interpreted as part of his third bid to become Maine’s governor.
At the Tuesday event, LePage reportedly said that he remains a supporter of gay marriage, noting that his closest brother is living “that alternative lifestyle,” Maine Public reporter Fred Bever tweeted on Tuesday.
LePage received an endorsement for his gubernatorial campaign from the Maine Associated Builders and Contractors at Tuesday’s event.
As of the first week of June, LePage had been out-fundraised by incumbent Gov. Janet Mills, who had raised $3.2 million to LePage’s figure that stood just shy of $1.5 million at the end of May. LePage won both his 2010 and 2014 campaigns, despite lagging in funding.
