Dunlap and LePage debated, hotly, for the final time. Here are 3 takeaways
Matt Dunlap, left, and Paul LePage are running to replace U.S. Rep. Jared Golden in the 2nd Congressional District. (Press Herald file photos)
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Matt Dunlap and Paul LePage faced off Thursday— sometimes arguing — for the final time on the debate stage before Election Day.
The Democratic state auditor and Republican former governor are locked in one of the nation’s most competitive races for the U.S. House. The only major poll of the race, conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center in September, found Dunlap with a six-point edge.
Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, the second-most rural in the country, has voted for President Donald Trump three times while also electing Democratic Rep. Jared Golden to a House seat since 2018. With Golden not running for reelection, the seat is wide open.
The race is of national importance. Democrats’ path to recapture the House — currently held by Republicans with a four-seat majority — would be significantly bolstered if Dunlap can hold off LePage, one of Maine’s most prominent Republicans.
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Those were the stakes for the candidates coming into Thursday’s debate. It was hosted by WABI and WAGM.
Here are three takeaways.
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1. There were quite a few spiky moments.
During discussion about declining healthcare access in Maine, Dunlap criticized PL 90, a law championed by LePage during his time as governor that set up a pool of high-risk patients and subsidized their insurance with a fee on all individual health insurance plans in Maine.
“It’s an all-you-can-eat buffet for the insurance companies,” Dunlap said, repeating criticisms about PL 90 from 2012.
“What are you reading?” LePage shot back. “PL 90 lowered the premiums by 76%.”
“That’s not true,” Dunlap said, leaving LePage seemingly exasperated.
“Matt, you’ve been lying a lot this campaign,” LePage said.
Dunlap later accused LePage of calling Social Security a “welfare program,” and quoted from a 2014 press release in which the LePage administration criticized transfer programs, where the federal government sends money to the state, which then disburses funds. The release lumped Social Security in with those programs.
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“Quote: ‘It doesn’t matter what liberals call these payments, it is welfare, pure and simple,’ said Gov. LePage,” Dunlap said, pulling from the release. “Including those Social Security payments we just discussed.”
LePage and Dunlap sparred on this for a full minute and a half while moderators Jon Small and Kelly O’Mara attempted to go to a commercial break.
“I’ll just say this,” LePage said, getting the last word in before the halfway point. “If Jared doesn’t retire, you’re not here tonight.”
At the end of the debate, Dunlap challenged LePage about his time living in Florida. LePage has been back and forth between the two states since he left the Blaine House in 2019. He began renting an apartment in Augusta the same month he announced his candidacy for Congress last spring.
LePage said he was a “snowbird,” living in Florida during the winter and Maine during the summer. He said he never spent a full year in Florida and paid his taxes here.
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That point emerged again in the candidates’ final remarks.
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“He just got a Maine driver’s license right after he declared he was going to run for Congress here,” Dunlap said.
“I never said I didn’t have a Florida driver’s license,” LePage interrupted.
2. Global conflict was, again, a major focus.
The debate began with a question on increasing heating oil assistance. Heating oil, used by about half of Maine households, is hovering near its all-time record price — it rose to over $6 per gallon last month.
Dunlap said heating assistance through the Home Energy Assistance Program should be fully funded, and that the war in Iran was the primary driver of costs. The reduction of shipments through the Strait of Hormuz since the Iran war began in February has caused oil prices to spike worldwide.
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LePage agreed on the first point — that HEAP should have more backing from the federal government — but challenged the second. Instead of pulling out of Iran, he said, the U.S. Navy and Air Force should force regime change there, though he said the U.S. should not put “boots on the ground.”
“Too many Americans are getting killed in other countries by proxies and the regime in Iran,” LePage said. “So I do believe it’s time to take ’em out.”
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“Paul LePage is talking about regime change, and yet not putting any boots on the ground,” Dunlap responded. “I’m not sure how that happens without having American troops committed in a combat situation.”
The moderators also asked about the U.S. trade war with Canada, which has put strain on Maine businesses.
LePage said he has urged the Trump administration to return to the negotiating table, not least because tariffs can be a useful negotiating tool.
Dunlap said he would hope to act instead as a check on Trump, challenging his power to unilaterally impose tariffs.
3. Healthcare kept coming back up.
The most spirited and substantive discussion during the first half of the debate took place in response to a question about healthcare access.
LePage said he wanted to return to the insurance subsidy program he championed as governor, and Dunlap said he hoped to move toward universal healthcare.
LePage had pivoted from a question on immigration to his intent to work across the aisle with Democrats in Congress, and said Dunlap would simply block efforts to take action. Dunlap further pivoted to universal healthcare, saying adopting such a system would, on average, save money. LePage said the cost would be “astronomical.”
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Tagged: 2nd Congressional District, election 2026, maine politics, Matt Dunlap, Paul LePage
Ethan reports on cost of living for the Portland Press Herald. Before he joined in mid-2026, he covered local news in Augusta and surrounding areas and ran a weekly newsletter for the Kennebec Journal. More by Ethan Horton
