WATERVILLE – Mike Michaud wasn’t at Thursday’s 2nd Congressional District candidates forum, but that didn’t stop challenger Kevin Raye from arguing his points and pushing back against recent poll numbers.
Both candidates were invited to the event hosted by the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce at Thomas College. About 30 people attended the forum. Michaud declined the invitation, citing his commitment to four upcoming debates.
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At Thursday’s forum, an audience member asked Raye about Wednesday’s poll numbers that showed the challenger lagging behind Michaud by 20 percentage points.
Raye said he read the latest poll with some amusement. The Pan Atlantic SMS Group surveyed 200 people two weeks ago in the 2nd District, with a margin of error of 7 percentage points. Raye said he’s never seen a poll with such a high margin of error, or one released so many days after it was conducted.
“It was purported to be a snapshot of the race when it was already two weeks old,” Raye said. His campaign’s internal polling “shows a much closer race than public polls.”Moderator Matthew Clark questioned Raye on five topics: tax reform, health care, energy costs, infrastructure and regulatory reform.
Morning Sentinel Staff Writer Ben McCanna can be contacted at 861-9239 or at:
bmccanna@centralmaine.com
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