Jamie Hopkins

Maine has largely been under Democrat control since 1974, we are now the third highest taxed state in the nation. Maine’s young people should be able to afford a home, in addition to their everyday living expenses such as gas and groceries. Maine Republicans will reverse excessive fees, taxes and regulations and put the American Dream back within reach.

Mainers no longer feel safe. From inadequate mental health care to drug trafficking and homeless camps, government is failing at its core function of maintaining public safety. Maine’s children deserve to be safe in our local parks or on neighborhood streets. Maine Republicans will restore law and order.

School spending has skyrocketed while education quality has plummeted; Maine is failing its students. Our children deserve a world class education, school options that fit the student, and teachers with the freedom to innovate. Maine Republicans will prioritize the classroom and ensure that parents are recognized as the highest authority in the lives of their own children.

With prohibitive costs and decreasing access, the substandard healthcare in Maine is bankrupting our quality of life. We are all waiting longer for appointments, there is a dire lack of mental health and substance abuse treatment, while finding a provider has become frustratingly difficult. Maine Republicans will decrease state and insurance impediments, and put patients back in control of their treatment.

Damaging energy policies have led to soaring food, fuel and energy bills. Taxpayer money is subsidizing politically favored industries at the expense of small businesses and working families. Maine Republicans support low-cost clean and renewable energy, such as hydropower, and will end the expansive and unsustainable subsidies.

Maine’s heritage industries of fishing, farming and forestry are threatened. Maine’s rich soil, clean waters and pure air support these industries and our quality of life and are essential for our children and their future. We trust our farmers, fishermen and women and others who depend on these vital resources to be good stewards of our environment. Maine Republicans are committed to protecting our environmental heritage, and supporting policies that ensure the survival and expansion of our farms and sustainable fisheries.

At the same time we do not have enough people to fill available jobs, generous welfare benefits paid for by Maine taxpayers attract people from away without requiring that they work, train or volunteer. Welfare should provide a safety net while helping people discover the dignity of work and achievement. Republican solutions will graduate people from welfare to work, from poverty to prosperity.

Trust in our election system has eroded. Maine people should find it easy to vote, but difficult to cheat. If ID is required to drive, to bank, or to purchase alcohol, it is common sense to require photo identification for voting. Maine Republicans 100% support a voter ID law.