Maine Democratic Senate candidate Sara Gideon’s campaign quietly erased a Patagonia logo from a jacket she wore in a video used in Facebook ads soliciting donations to her campaign.
Gideon, who is challenging GOP incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, is from Freeport, Maine, home to intense Patagonia rival L.L. Bean. The outdoor retailer is the fifth largest employer in Maine, while Patagonia is based in Ventura, California.
In a video used in Facebook ads that started running on Aug. 20, Gideon stands in a field wearing a navy blue puffed Patagonia jacket with a bright blue zipper as her hair is caught by the breeze.
“Cook Political Report just moved our race from ‘leans Republican’ to ‘toss up,’ and that’s after only after eight weeks of campaigning,” Gideon said in the video. “Chip in now to help us keep this momentum going so we can beat Susan Collins and elect a senator who puts Maine first.”
ICYMI: @CookPolitical moved our race from Lean R to a Toss Up – after only *8 weeks* on the campaign trail!
Let’s keep it up! Join our movement to unseat Susan Collins in 2020 ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/fBhUchoRm2
— Sara Gideon (@SaraGideonME) August 21, 2019
Facebook ads that started running on Aug. 22 feature the same video, but with the Patagonia jacket logo edited out.
Gideon is speaker of the Maine State House and in her fourth term representing a district that encompasses part of Freeport. She was previously on the Freeport Town Council.
The Gideon campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Several other candidates also seek the Democratic nomination to challenge Collins in 2020, but Gideon is the most prominent. She raised $1.1 million in the first six days following her June campaign launch and earned endorsements from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and EMILY’s List.
Gideon faces a more serious political controversy regarding her use of a state political committee to improperly reimburse herself for political donations in 2015 and 2016. Her campaign manager said that the committee received “incorrect guidance” on how to process the contributions. On Thursday, a former Republican Maine state senator filed an ethics complaint against Gideon for “blatantly, deliberately, and repeatedly” violating state and federal law.
Shortly before his inauguration in 2017, President Trump singled out a Maine backer, Linda Bean, for praise on Twitter and called on his followers to shop at L. L. Bean, which is owned by her family. “Thank you to Linda Bean of L.L.Bean for your great support and courage,” he said on Twitter. “People will support you even more now. Buy L.L.Bean. @LBPerfectMaine.”
Executive chairman Shawn Gorman distanced the company from Trump, saying that Linda Bean was just 1 of 10 people on its board. Gorman himself had donated to a number of Republicans, including Collins, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, and businesswoman Carly Fiorina during her 2016 presidential campaign.
Last year, Patagonia aligned itself with Democrats, supporting the party’s Senate candidates in Montana and Nevada, stating it was making the move “because of the urgent and unprecedented threats to our public lands and waters.”
