PORTLAND — One of the six candidates for U.S. Senate used the final debate Saturday night to announce he’s dropping out of the race, another led a prayer during his closing statement, and the four independents at times ganged up on the Republican and Democratic candidates, blaming their parties for partisan gridlock.
Steve Woods, a Yarmouth businessman, brought the debate to an abrupt end when he used his closing statement to reveal that he was ending his Senate bid and to ask his supporters to vote for former Gov. Angus King.
“In my opinion, only one person is the most competent with the highest degree of integrity to represent all Mainers. His name is Angus King,” Woods told the audience at Lewiston Middle School.
With his announcement, the debate was out of time.
Woods’ campaign never gained traction, and he had vowed not to play a spoiler role in the six-way race. Afterward, he said he still believes he could have been an effective senator, “but I know that in an election, sometimes, for the good of the nation and the people of Maine, a candidate must bow out gracefully.”
That left five candidates vying for the seat that’s being vacated by retiring Republican US. Sen. Olympia Snowe. Woods’ name will remain on the ballot despite his announcement.
Their last debate before the election — sponsored by MaineToday Media, WGME-TV and WGAN-AM — focused largely on familiar issues of taxes and spending, jobs and the economy, and energy and climate change.
Outnumbered by political independents, Republican Charlie Summers and Democrat Cynthia Dill at times had to defend themselves and their parties, which came under attack.
Both Summers and Dill emphasized that they, too, were independent and would put Mainers ahead of their parties. Summers blamed the failure of Congress to accomplish anything on a lack of leadership, while Dill blamed “an extremist group of Republicans who are bent on blocking progress.”
Danny Dalton said the nation’s problems were created by “two parties not doing their jobs over the decades.” And Andrew Ian Dodge described their claims of independence as “desperately amusing.”
King, meanwhile, said the nation’s founding fathers had warned of the power and influence of political parties, and he said the solution is an independent who’s not beholden to a party.
Feisty to the end, Woods had a testy exchange with Dill over her complaint that the Senate is controlled by old, white, wealthy men and needs more women, more diversity and younger leadership.
Woods, who owns six marketing businesses collectively known as TideSmart, said that wealth is often associated with competency and hard work and that people shouldn’t be punished for it. He also suggested that a 47-year-old lawyer from a Portland suburb wouldn’t add much to the diversity of the Senate.
She didn’t back down, telling him that she didn’t have anything against rich white men but said they’re overrepresented in the Senate. “That’s speaking truth to power,” she said.
The candidates may have been growing weary of one another after facing off for three nights in a row. All told, the three leading candidates — King, Summers and Dill — have attended a total of 11 candidate forums and debates over the course of the campaign. Woods, Dalton and Dodge weren’t invited to all of them.
The candidates offered a sharp contrast, with Summers vowing to cut taxes and spending to promote economic growth, Dill touting herself as a candidate who relates to the middle class, Dalton seeking to use his experience as a civil servant to end government waste and incompetence, and libertarian Dodge seeking to battle government intrusion.
Woods and King both agreed that new revenues — tax increases — have to be part of the solution to bring down the government’s $16 trillion debt, along with what King described as “severe cuts.” King said his experience as governor taught him that it takes many things to create an atmosphere conducive to business growth.
“What I learned was there’s no silver bullet. There’s no single thing that you do,” he said. “There’s silver buckshot. There’s a lot of things you can do.”
The debate concluded with a couple of surprises.
Before Woods announced he was dropping out, Dalton used his closing statement to lead the group in the Lord’s Prayer, reciting it in its entirety. The others quickly bowed their heads in prayer.
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