周四，缅因州第二国会选区举行的美国众议院公开竞选辩论中，前缅因州州长保罗·勒佩奇（Paul LePage）与特朗普政府在伊朗战争、关税和移民等关键问题上存在分歧。共和党候选人勒佩奇正在与州审计员马特·邓拉普（Matt Dunlap）竞争，他此前曾批评政府广泛的移民镇压工作，因为他表示他的岳父被错误地驱逐出境。
Former Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) split with the Trump administration on key issues — including the Iran war, tariffs and immigration — during a Thursday debate in the open U.S. House race in the state’s 2nd Congressional District. LePage, the GOP nominee, who is running against state Auditor Matt Dunlap (D), previously criticized the administration’s widespread immigration crackdown efforts after he said his father-in-law was being wrongfully deported.
在周四由当地媒体WMTW主办的辩论中，LePage呼吁美国移民和海关执法局（ICE）加强其驱逐行动的问责制和透明度。此外，这位共和党候选人对特朗普政府对加拿大征收的关税表示不同意，并依靠他在第一届特朗普政府领导下促进北美自由贸易协定谈判的经验。勒佩奇说：“我们需要缓和言辞，我们需要让加拿大总统和总理回到谈判桌上。”
During the Thursday debate hosted by local outlet WMTW, LePage called for increased accountability and transparency from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) around its deportation operations. Additionally, the Republican nominee expressed disagreement with the Trump administration’s tariffs on Canada and leaned on his experience facilitating negotiations over the North American Free Trade Agreement under the first Trump administration. “We need to de-escalate the rhetoric, and we need to get the president and the prime minister of Canada back to the negotiating table,” LePage said.
尽管在辩论的部分内容中与特朗普政府意见不一，但勒佩奇也宣扬了他在担任州长期间与总统合作的经历。勒佩奇说：“我个人认识他，我现在要说的是，我将能够进入椭圆形办公室。”他补充道，“我的对手不会。这位共和党候选人敦促总统‘尽快’结束正在进行的伊朗战争，但表示如果当选，他将反对战争权力决议。众议院在几名共和党议员的支持下通过了三项关于伊朗战争权力的决议。邓拉普批评了勒佩奇在战争权力决议问题上的立场，指出能源价格上涨与持续的冲突有关。“由于伊朗战争，你的取暖油每加仑7美元。保罗·勒佩奇无法决定他是赞成还是反对，”邓拉普在辩论结束后的社交媒体帖子中写道。
Despite disagreeing with the Trump administration in segments of the debate, LePage also touted his past experience working with the president during his time as governor. "I know him personally, and I will say right now, I will be able to get into the Oval Office," LePage said, adding, "My opponent will not." The GOP candidate urged the president to bring the ongoing Iran war to a close “as quick as possible,” but said he would oppose a war powers resolution if elected. The House has passed three Iran war powers resolutions with the support of several Republican lawmakers. Dunlap criticized LePage’s stance on a war powers resolution question, pointing to rising energy prices tied to the ongoing conflict.
勒佩奇和邓拉普将于10月15日在第二场辩论中再次交锋。共和党希望在11月翻转这个关键摇摆选区，该选区目前由即将退休的民主党众议员贾里德·戈尔登代表。特朗普在2024年总统大选中以9个百分点的优势赢得了该选区。非党派选举预测机构《库克政治报告》将这场竞选评为“共和党很可能获胜”。然而，最近的民调显示，在可能投票者中，邓拉普领先这位前州长。根据新罕布什尔大学9月底发布的一项民调，这位民主党人比他的共和党对手领先6个百分点。
“Your heating oil is $7 a gallon because of the Iran war. Paul LePage can't decide if he's for it or against it,” Dunlap wrote in a social media post after the debate. LePage and Dunlap will face off again in a second debate on Oct. 15. Republicans are hoping to flip this key swing district in November, which is currently represented by retiring Democratic Rep. Jared Golden. Trump won the district by 9 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election. The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election forecaster, rates this race as “Likely Republican.”However, recent polling has shown Dunlap leading the former governor among likely voters. In a University of New Hampshire survey released at the end of September, the Democrat had a 6-point advantage over his GOP opponent.