Bowdoin College hosted Maine’s third and final senate debate Saturday. From left to right: David Costello (D), Demi Kouzounas (R), Jason Cherry (I) Emma Kilbride photo
Three of the four candidates vying to represent Maine in the U.S. Senate made their final pitch to voters Saturday night at Bowdoin College.
Candidates Demi Kouzounas (R), David Costello (D) and Jason Cherry (I) are vying for the seat currently held by Sen. Angus King (I-Brunswick), who didn’t take part in the debate.
The debate was student-focused and constructed from questions submitted by students at colleges across the state. Bowdoin sophomores Zak Asplin (of Bowdoin College Conservatives) and Natalie Emmerson (of Bowdoin College Democrats) moderated the discussion.
The debate came just three days ahead of Election Day on Nov. 5. Recent polls project a 15-point margin of victory for King, followed most closely by Kouzounas with Costello and Cherry far behind.
The economy
Top of mind for candidates and voters is campaign finance, as Question 1 on Tuesday proposes a $5,000 cap on election contributions from political action committees (PACs).
Costello voiced his support for Question 1 and an overhaul of campaign finance law at the federal level, starting with a reevaluation of the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision that enabled corporations to spend unlimited funds on political campaigns.
“I think one of the worst things in our democracy … [is] the amount of money involved,” Costello said.
Cherry said that campaign finance reform is an important step in electing legislators that are equipped to tackle other types of reform.
“How can we reform if we don’t have the absolute truth?” Cherry said.
Kouzounas agreed that campaign finance reform is necessary but expressed uncertainty about what form it should take.
Candidates were also asked to address the cost of living crisis in Maine. Kouzounas said she is alarmed by the housing crisis and that addressing it is key to addressing the cost of living in the state overall.
“We’re going to lower the cost [of housing] down and bring the wages up, but not so much that you’re just increasing inflation,” she said.
Costello expressed support for raising the national minimum wage.
“We’ve got a national minimum wage that’s only $7 an hour. … What family can live on that?” he said. “We certainly need to bring that up to at least $14 to $15 an hour.”
Cherry agreed, but cautioned against the adverse economic effects of raising the federal minimum wage too quickly or without proper taxation.
“We need to think about how we do that in a way that those costs are not passed on to the consumer,” Cherry said.
All three candidates expressed a degree of support for student debt forgiveness. Kouzounas, a veteran, said she supports debt relief for public service workers but said the onus should be on universities to lower tuition costs.
Costello and Cherry both argued for a targeted approach to debt relief that is not universal, depending on factors such as income and profession.
“I’d be very careful about a program that allows almost anyone to not pay their student loans,” Costello said.
Congress and foreign policy
Candidates were asked about the role of the Legislature in foreign policy and to comment on the United States’ response to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
Costello advocated for reform to the congressional committee system that would allow for more informed participation from senators and representatives.
“Congress does not play as definitive a role because it isn’t as engaged and isn’t as well informed as it should be,” Costello said.
Kouzounas said she backs more congressional involvement in foreign affairs proceedings but is concerned about the impact of campaign finance from defense contractors on congressional behavior.
“Defense contractors should not be giving money to candidates who are running for office, because it looks like you’ve got the war machine going pretty strongly,” she said.
Cherry said he feels the executive has an outsized concentration of power that should be redistributed to congress.
“When you concentrate too much power in one position, you’re just asking for trouble,” Cherry said.
In discussing the war in Gaza, Costello condemned Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel but also described Israel’s invasion of Palestine as “indefensible.”
“We need to do a lot more to work with Israelis who want a credible two-state solution,” he said.
Kouzounas implied that freeing Israeli and American hostages in Palestine would be a priority for her, as would standing with Ukraine, and spoke broadly about the importance of peace.
“It’s a very complicated situation, but appeasing your enemies does not work,” she said.
Kouzounas claimed that Israel and Palestine were engaged in a two-state solution prior to Oct. 7, and Costello hit back, correcting her that there was “no credible two-state solution” prior to the Hamas attack.
Cherry suggested a “UN buffer” between Israel and Palestine to de-escalate the conflict. He also condemned calls for Ukraine to surrender its land to Russia.
“It’s treasonous,” he said of calls for Ukrainian surrender.
The Environment
Candidates discussed the future of Maine’s energy grid, different forms of renewable energy and how the state can combat climate change.
“We must go and work forward with our renewable energies, that includes hydroelectric but under an agreement with Calgary that seems to own our electric grid,” Cherry said.
Costello supports a carbon tax as a way to reduce emissions but emphasized that it should be designed to protect rural communities less able to rely on low-impact modes of transportation. He also advocated for continued exploration of renewable energy sources, including wind, solar and hydroelectric power.
“The Gulf of Maine is probably one of the best areas to have floating wind turbines, and that’s what the state’s attempting to do, so I certainly support that,” Costello said. “You want to do it in a way that minimizes the impact on the fisheries.”
Kouzounas expressed concern about the environmental impact of solar farms on forests and offshore wind farms on marine life. She said the best way to combat climate change is to crack down on emissions from China and India.
“Those wind turbines make ocean noise. That ocean noise affects our whales. I have an issue with that,” she said.
The Supreme Court
When asked about the state of the Supreme Court, Costello proposed term and age limits for justices and potentially court-packing. He criticized the Court’s handling of cases on reproductive rights and campaign finance.
“It’s only a partisan issue, quite frankly, because the Republican Party has put in place people who aren’t genuine jurists,” Costello said.
Cherry feels the future of Supreme Court reform lies in ranked-choice voting, a significant feature of his platform. He said giving people a “third choice” will dilute partisan bias in the Court.
“We cannot continue … [with] this finger-pointing about the Supreme Court justices, because there’s just as many Democratic Supreme Court justices that are far to the left that are not neutral,” he said.
Kouzounas expressed openness to age and term limits for justices but is concerned about such restrictions being used to uphold a partisan agenda.
“We need to revise, and I’m fine with that, but we need to be careful we don’t make it partisan,” she said.
Emma Kilbride is executive editor of the Bowdoin Orient, Bowdoin College’s student newspaper.