Today, Maine Democratic Chair Drew Gattine issued the following statement slamming Republican former Governor Paul LePage for saying Maine was “very, very fortunate that COVID came” during this morning’s Eggs and Issues gubernatorial debate:

“Paul LePage’s comment is an insult to Maine people, especially to the thousands of people across the state who lost a loved one to COVID. No governor wanted to be hit by a once in a generation pandemic, but we are grateful that Governor Mills was in charge when it did. She had reversed Paul LePage’s cuts to public health and guided Maine decisively and compassionately, leading us to one of the highest vaccination rates and lowest death rates in the nation. Even Trump-aligned conservative economists gave Governor Mills an ‘A’ grade for limiting economic harm.

“Paul LePage is wrong: we are not fortunate that COVID came. We are fortunate that we had Governor Mills – not him – when it did.”