PORTLAND, Maine — It was another busy week in politics. From a reported uptick in voter registration in Maine after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race to Congressman Jared Golden making it clear he won't endorse a candidate in the presidential race, our analysts shared their opinions on the top stories.
Uptick in voter registration
According to a report from the Maine Secretary of State's Office, voter registration spiked after President Joe Biden's announcement last month that he would be stepping out of the race. Officials say data showed more than 3,700 Mainers registered to vote in July. That's the most since last November. The data also showed that in the week alone that Biden dropped out, 1,200 people registered to vote, followed by another 1,100 the week after that.
ZACH: "They did not break down the parties here. But Ray, does this mean anything to you?"
RAY: "I don't think it does, necessarily, because if you look around the country, you've seen voter registrations spike in the aftermath of Biden dropping out. Some states, Republicans have an advantage; some states, Democrats do. I think maybe in Maine, because we are more of a blue state, it may be the enthusiasm around Vice President [Kamala] Harris. Democrats were demoralized. We all know that they knew they were going to lose the White House. They thought they would lose the House and the Senate because of what's going on with Joe Biden. And with Harris stepping in, now they feel like they have a fighting chance. So, it may be a Democratic advantage here. But I think you if you look around the country, because we were talking about this this week on my show, registrations are up, and that's a good thing regardless of the party."
GENIUS: "I have to agree with that last statement very strongly—regardless of the party. I think Kamala Harris is exciting for a lot of people, and particularly a lot more exciting than Joe Biden. So I'm not surprised that a lot of people registered even in the state of Maine. I think it might, it might make a difference. But I know for a fact that there's Democrats and Republicans registering. There are people getting their voices out. I really I have to say, I think it's a win. But I think that moving on from Joe Biden as the most viable candidate, even though he is, I thought, a good candidate, we saw some weaknesses and they decided to move on. I think sometimes that's good strategy. But Kamala Harris brings great energy expectations and amazing intellect. People question her intellect. I think we're going to be seeing more of that. So I'm not surprised, particularly young people, women jazzed up about that one."
ZACH: "Ray, do you think that momentum has Republicans concerned, though, and is that perhaps causing more Republicans to register to vote in this case?"
RAY: "It could be. I mean, I'm not concerned. I do think she's a smart woman. I've never said anything other than that. I don't believe she is a person with a lot of great self-confidence because we have seen her off teleprompter, and she really struggles in front of big crowds or in the big moment. Look, did she ignite some enthusiasm in the Democratic Party? Of course, she did. You know, Joe Biden was not a good candidate for them, but the border is still porous. The economy is still tough. People are struggling. That hasn't changed. And according to her, according to Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House spokesperson, and according to Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Joe Biden are synonymous on policy. So she has to take credit or blame for it."
Golden won't endorse
Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, is making clear he won't endorse a candidate for president. Golden has said he doesn't support former President Donald Trump but has avoided taking a stance on Vice President Kamala Harris. When asked about it at an event in Madawaska, he said it's just not his focus right now.
"I'm going to continue to stay focused on my race and on my job right through right to the finish line. And I don't think people elected me to spend all my time worrying about the national politics, particularly other people's races," Golden told NEWS CENTER Maine.
This is despite the fact Golden published an op-ed in the Bangor Daily News saying he believes Trump will win and he's "OK with that." The former president has endorsed Golden's opponent, Republican state Rep. Austin Theriault.
ZACH: "Genius, does the average voter care?"
GENIUS: "I don't think that who Jared Golden endorses is what will decide who Mainers vote for. Honestly, I think it matters. It's all information that comes in. So for me, I don't blame me for not want to get into it. I think there's this distortion field around Donald Trump. I think there's multiple distortions, fuels floating around the same time among politicians and focusing on his race, I think is good work. A lot of the young people, when they're online, they'll see something bad and they say, 'Oh, that's dirty work.' Jumping into politics when you don't need to right now is dirty work. So he's avoiding it."
RAY: "I'm not going to be a hypocrite—because I am many things, but that is not one of them. When [Republican U.S. Sen.] Susan Collins declined to endorse Donald Trump, I said she's an American. She has a right to vote for who she wants to. I did talk with Mike Shepherd of the Bangor Daily News on my show Friday. We talked about this, and I think the issue is not that he's not endorsing one or the other. I think the issue for Jared is, you ever been in Portland, and you're driving along in your mind, in your own business, and the car in front of you has one side in your lane and one side in their lane? And if you say out loud or you say to yourself, 'Dude, pick a lane'? I think that's the issue. He needs to pick a lane to run in. And whether it's Harris or whether it's Trump, that's fine. Or if he's going to vote for somebody else as Collins did—I think she said she wrote in Paul Ryan—tell us that. I think the waffling here is going to be his issue, not who he's going to vote for."
ZACH: "Would it have been easier if he hadn't written that op-ed piece?"
RAY: "I don't think so. You know, look, Jared has— I don't know that he's an independent, but he's trying to play off how, you know, over time he votes with the Democrats. About 85 percent of the time, he's a Democrat. He probably should. But I think he tries too hard to make himself to be an independent voice. And that op-ed? It was unusual. And in light of the change from Biden to Harris, he's probably going to have a lot of heat on him between now and November to say one or the other or I'm choosing a write-in."
Illegal marijuana grows
The Maine Public Utilities Commission ruled law enforcement cannot use high utility bills as a way to find illegal marijuana growing operations. The proposal put forward by Versant would have allowed them to report suspiciously high power usage to the authorities. In a unanimous vote, the PUC rejected the proposal. Commissioners said they were concerned people could get reported for legal operations and privacy rights would be violated.
ZACH: "Is that fair to say, Ray?"
RAY: "You know, it's a fine line. Obviously, we want to protect someone's privacy, and just because they have a high usage bill doesn't mean they're an illegal marijuana grow. On the other hand, these utilities... And I know this firsthand. My youngest daughter is now 25. When she was 2, she snuck out of the house and took the dog out. She had on a shirt, no diaper. The CMP guy was there, and we owned a condo. They called the condo association, who then called us and said, 'Your daughter's outside, naked.' And I'm like, 'No, she's not! She's right here.' And I turned around, and she wasn't. So they reported that. So my point is, where's the line drawn here? We know that we have illegal marijuana grow fields that are being run by the Chinese in this state. They've been uncovered. If they suspect this going on, I don't know why it's harmful to report it to law enforcement at least and let them investigate."
ZACH: "It's a slippery slope, though."
RAY: "Of course. You've got to be careful."
RELATED: Maine regulators reject idea to use energy bills to help find illegal marijuana grow operations
GENIUS: "I was going to say that's that—the fine line, as you said, right? We have to take action. I remember something I was reading about some of these Chinese grow houses. And the thing that blew me away is that many of the workers are actually in bondage, like, they're trapped there. Right? It's not an under-the-table job, as you find.
RAY: "Some of them are being trafficked out of those places."
GENIUS: "And that's what I'm saying is that this is a high level of criminality. Now, that being said, law enforcement is important, and they need clues and tools. But it gets to these points where I feel like, again, I respect people's rights. But if you have, you know, CMP or some of these companies reporting directly to police, and they show up, and it turns out to be the completely wrong thing—but then violence occurs or there's a misunderstanding or things like that in the whole thing happened unfortunately, because of that information that was shared—I don't want that to happen. I want that to happen to Mainers or any of the other states where these grow houses are popping up. So I like that they're trying to thread the line, but I think we just have to move forward."