In Maine’s nationally watched Senate contest, Democrat Sara Gideon vowed to divest from any ties she has to the fossil fuel industry as she hopes to court progressive voters. While campaigning against the industry, in an effort to swing support from the far-left, Maine’s energy usage is dominated by fossil fuels.
Gideon promised this in late 2019, but still holds up to $1,375,000 in mutual funds invested in fossil fuel companies, including Chevron, ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell. Also present in Gideon’s investment disclosures is Tatneft, one of Russia’s largest oil and gas companies with ties to Vladimir Putin. On top of not divesting, Gideon fundraised with oil executives in January. Before she launched her bid for the Senate, Gideon’s Leadership PAC from her tenure in the state legislature took up to $7,000 from fossil fuel companies, indirectly allowing Gideon’s campaign to be financed by the industry. Leadership PACs exist to allow candidates who want to publicly be against “big money” donations to indirectly receive corporate contributions.
Her failure to divest from the fossil fuel industry, after promising to do so, is not Gideon’s first instance of hypocrisy. Gideon launched her Senate run as a champion for the #MeToo movement, after Sen. Collins voted in favor of the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, while allegations of sexual misconduct stained the confirmation process. Despite claiming to “believe women” and victims of sexual abuse, Gideon ignored allegations of child sexual abuse against a Democratic colleague in Maine’s House of Representatives. Gideon also vowed to not take donations from corporate or Pharmaceutical PACs, but was caught taking such contributions. The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) took note of the multiple cases of hypocrisy:
Don’t miss our new ad in Maine ??
— The Senate Majority (@NRSC) August 3, 2020
Hypocrisy means saying one thing and doing another. And it’s just one more reason @SaraGideon is too risky for Maine.
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A target seat of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), Maine’s Senate race is rated as a toss-up by Cook Political Report.