Users' Choice
Maine’s leading gubernatorial candidate comes out as gay
If successful in his bid to become Maine’s next governor, U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud would become the first out candidate ever elected to serve as chief executive of a state.
Michaud came out as gay in a column that he released to three of Maine’s major news outlets this morning.
Michaud said that he acted in response to “whisper campaigns, insinuations and push-polls” about his personal life. His goal, he said, was to respond “with a simple, honest answer.”
“For me, it’s just a part of who I am, as much as being a third-generation mill worker or a lifelong Mainer,” Michaud wrote to news outlets. “One thing I do know is that it has nothing to do with my ability to lead the state of Maine.”
“I don’t plan to make my personal life or my opponents’ personal lives an issue in this campaign. We’ve had enough negativity in our politics and too many personal attacks over the last few years. We owe it to the people of Maine to focus on how we get our state back on track.”
Michaud, a six-term Democratic Congressman, has been leading in the three-way gubernatorial race against incumbent Republican Gov. Paul LePage and independent candidate Eliot Cutler, according to polls.
