AUGUSTA, Maine — The two Republicans vying to oust U.S. Rep. Jared Golden in the November election are feuding after one criticized the other for running a bar in the 1990s that featured exotic dancers and contributed to his various tax problems around that time.
Information about state Rep. Mike Soboleski’s business history was circulated in a Tuesday email by the campaign of Rep. Austin Theriault of Fort Kent, the other Republican running for the 2024 nomination in Maine’s 2nd District. The campaign email asks a small group of Theriault supporters not to send it to anyone, but it was forwarded to a Bangor Daily News reporter.
It makes clear that the two freshman state lawmakers looking to make a big jump to Congress have been feuding over issues of morality at recent party events. They have rarely attacked each other in public, mostly working to link Golden to national Democrats.
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The 30-year-old Theriault is a former NASCAR driver, while Soboleski, 67, styles himself as a social conservative and a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump. He has an eclectic background as a former actor who ran businesses and worked as a DJ.
Theriault released his campaign’s research on Soboleski after saying Soboleski used party caucus stump speeches to criticize Theriault’s vote for a measure that partially legalized prostitution in Maine while increasing penalties on those who buy sex.
Theriault was one of only seven House Republicans who voted with Democrats in May to advance the bill. While Soboleski opposed it, his campaign manager, the libertarian-leaning Rep. John Andrews, R-Paris, voted with Theriault on the measure.
In the email was a screenshot of a 1994 Kennebec Journal article on Pirate’s Cove Tavern, a downtown Augusta nightclub that Soboleski operated then. He told a reporter he was looking to simulate New Orleans stage shows. The article said he planned to have male and female “exotic dancers” at Mardi Gras theme nights upcoming at the time.
Both Soboleski and various businesses he ran, including the nightclub, had tax problems that also date back to the 1990s, according to Kennebec County property records that showed more than 20 liens, including those by the IRS and the state tax department. Records also show that Soboleski was in debt to other businesses in that era.
Soboleski pushed back Wednesday and said the Theriault campaign is using “smoke and mirrors” to distract “from the issues voters want to talk about.”
He said the liens came around the time when he was going through a divorce and that he has otherwise filed tax returns every year while never facing any tax-related charges. He noted that the IRS generally has a 10-year statute of limitations to collect tax debts and the period has passed.
As for the exotic dancers at his nightclub, Soboleski said “it was the 90s.”
“Trying to say that is an affront to my Christian values, that’s a little bit of a stretch,” Soboleski added.
He said Theriault was agitated by Soboleski pointing out the differences between their voting records, including how the Conservative Political Action Conference gave Soboleski a perfect rating for his 2023 votes while Theriault received one of the lowest ratings among Republicans.
Yet Theriault may be the favorite for the nomination largely due to his support from top House Republicans including Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana. Golden is a major target for national Republicans since Trump won the conservative-leaning 2nd District in 2016 and 2020 and is likely to be on the ballot this year.
Theriault’s campaign memo quotes the candidate at a recent caucus as saying Soboleski “is trying to lecture me and my colleagues on morality, sex and drugs while failing to tell voters that he owned a bar that hosted male exotic dancers.”
In a statement, Theriault accused Soboleski of a “smear campaign” and said the race should be focused from here on out on ousting Golden and opposing President Joe Biden.
“Attacks on my faith and my principles and morals will not go unanswered, especially when the false attacks are coming from someone with Mike’s background,” he said.
