Former Maine Gov. Paul LePage, a once-controversial Republican, is campaigning as a moderate figure as he seeks his old job back in what is expected to be an extremely competitive race.
The two-term governor, who described himself as “Trump before there was Trump” when endorsing him in 2016, claimed he was retiring from politics in 2019, when he was constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term. LePage, who made a name for himself with a series of controversies during his tenure, moved to Florida and vowed never again to seek public office.
The retirement didn’t last, nor did the Trumpian political approach.
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LePage, 73, has returned to the campaign trail a changed man, both in message and physical appearance. Since launching his 2022 bid against incumbent Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, he’s focused on the economy and rising crime while trying to avoid controversy around social issues like abortion. He’s also tried not to make offensive comments, as he has in the past.
LePage’s most notable shift, though, is how much he’s distanced himself from former President Donald Trump.
Maine is a moderate swing state and will be one of the most competitive battlegrounds in the November midterm elections. It appears that LePage is taking a page out of the playbook of other GOP candidates in blue and purple states, all of whom are trying to appear as centrist as possible to voters.
“What he’s trying to do is not necessarily change his policy, but take some of the rough edges off,” Mark Brewer, who chairs the University of Maine political science department, told NBC News in June.
Top LePage advisers attribute those “rough edges” to the former governor’s upbringing, which involved being raised in poverty and dealing with homelessness for a time as a boy.
LePage has said the shift in tone is based on a change in his political perception. Asked about his new campaign approach by News Center Maine in February, the former governor said he had gone through a “big change” since leaving office.
“The big change in me has been the last four years watching what’s going on in the country,” he said, referencing political divisions. “I am absolutely convinced that if we continue to hate each other, if we don’t find a path to at least like each other and respect each other, our country is in for doom. Our constitution will not survive. We need to find a path to have civil discourse so we can talk both sides of the argument.”
LePage was pressed further on the matter by the Atlantic earlier this month, specifically on if he was trying to present a “kinder, gentler version of himself this election.” The staunch Republican replied: “No, what I’m saying is life is a journey. And along the way you learn and you get better, and hope that every day, the rest of my life, I’m a better man.”
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Those close to the former governor told NBC that he had truly “mellowed out” during his brief retirement. He also realized that his frequent feuds with the media distracted from his agenda.
“It’s a different era,” Brent Littlefield, LePage’s top political adviser, said to the outlet. “He is finding it refreshing that he actually gets to go out and talk to a tremendous number of Mainers. He’s really enjoying himself.”
LePage declined to give a yes-or-no answer when asked in July by Fox News if he would seek out Trump’s help on the campaign trail, instead saying: “I don’t know if we need him up here. He’s helped a lot of candidates, and he’s been helpful. There are states that are in bigger need than the state of Maine. If he comes, he comes. If he doesn’t come, I think we’re doing fine.”
