AUGUSTA, Maine — Spending on TV ads has ballooned in the race between Rep. Jared Golden and former Rep. Bruce Poliquin in Maine’s 2nd District, with the volleys featuring false claims on taxes and an incomplete one on abortion.
The toss-up rematch of their 2018 race, also featuring independent Tiffany Bond, is one of 30 or so elections that could decide control of the House. It has seen $25 million in ad spending and reservations, ranking the race third in the nation, according to AdImpact data from last week.
Here are two of the key ads running now, followed by breakdowns of the major claims.
Hiking taxes, doubling the IRS and targeting middle-class families?
All the claims against Golden in this ad, from the Congressional Leadership Fund, the super PAC tied to leading House Republicans, revolve around the Inflation Reduction Act, the tax, health care, climate package that Democrats passed in August. These three have problems, some of which we have checked past claims on.
On the first, the ad says the measure will hike taxes by billions, including on those making less than $20,000. But there are no direct hikes on people making less than $400,000. The ad is citing fiscal estimates saying new taxes on big corporations will be paid indirectly by lower-income people and do not account for benefits that may apply to those people.
The act also does not double the IRS. This comes from a report saying the $80 billion more it puts into the agency would allow for the hiring of 87,000 employees over that period. With 50,000 employees set to retire in the next five years, there will be a smaller net gain.
The new agents are also aimed at enforcing tax laws on those making $400,000 or more. The IRS chief has said the agency would use the money in line with a federal directive to not increase audit rates on those making less. FactCheck.org has noted that while a congressional report found revenue from those under that mark would rise under the law, it cited other reasons for that including more voluntary compliance.
‘Supported allowing states to outlaw abortion, even in cases of rape or incest’
This claim, from House Democrats’ campaign arm, uses a line that we have seen on other Republicans, including former Gov. Paul LePage in his 2022 contest with Gov. Janet Mills. It usually refers to sweeping statements in favor of the U.S. Supreme Court’s June decision to overturn federal abortion rights and that is the case here.
In a statement after the ruling, Poliquin said the court rightly put the issue back in the hands of states. The decision has indeed allowed states to ban abortion, even in the extreme cases of rape and incest. After voting for a 20-week ban on most abortions in 2015, he has recently said Congress should leave abortion restrictions to states, backing Maine’s permissive law.
The ad ignores Poliquin’s stance on rape and incest exceptions, though. He filled out a 2014 survey by saying he would support a constitutional amendment banning abortion. Other candidates used asterisks to indicate support for exceptions. He did not, but he said in interviews then that he supports them, plus another for the health of the mother or child.
