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Angus King (Independent, Incumbent)
Angus King (Independent, Incumbent)
General Information
General Information
Senator Angus King currently represents Maine in the U.S. Senate and is running for re-election. King started his career as an attorney in 1969 for Pine Tree Legal Assistance in Skowhegan. He then became chief counsel to the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Alcoholism and Narcotics in the office of former Maine Senator William Hathaway. Afterwards, King served as the governor of Maine as an Independent. He was later elected to the U.S. Senate and is dedicated to creating jobs, reigniting the economy, reforming the state’s mental health services, investing in the public education system, and improving environmental regulations.
On Abortion rights/women's health...
On Abortion rights/women's health...
We’ve seen the attacks on reproductive rights and family planning in Alabama and the archaic, harsh laws emerging in other states after the Dobbs decision. I know that the threats women are facing when making healthcare decisions with their providers are real and can tragically be dangerous. I believe in reproductive rights and adequate access to healthcare which is why I stand firm in my belief to advance legislation to codify Roe, provide access to contraception, and ensure the right to IVF.
On Affordable Housing and accessible housing...
On Affordable Housing and accessible housing...
Homelessness in Maine has several root causes. First and foremost, our state has a housing supply crisis which has made it very difficult for many people to afford safe and stable housing by driving up the prices of our existing housing stock. To combat this root cause, I am leading and supporting legislation that will expand the housing supply, putting downward pressure on prices. These efforts include my recently introduced Farmhouse-to-Workforce Housing Act, which will provide grants to homeowners who seek to build ADUs; the ACRE Act, which makes mortgage interest tax-free to community banks, enabling them to reduce mortgage rates; the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act, which will enhance the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit; and the HTC-GO Act, which improves the Historic Tax Credit — a vital tool in creating affordable housing out of Maine’s historic places. Finally, I have been a long-time supporter of housing voucher funding. I also support more flexibility for vouchers so that it is easier for voucher holders to access housing on the open market or in housing projects depending on availability.
On the climate crisis and its implications in Maine...
On the climate crisis and its implications in Maine...
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges in our lifetime and affects everything from the health of our state’s forests and our rocky coasts to the prices we pay at the grocery store and for heating in our homes. In fact, every week, there are examples of the changing climate in our state. As the Gulf of Maine warms, fishermen are finding the ranges of fish and lobster populations to be different from what they were a generation ago. Municipalities and utilities are struggling to maintain infrastructure pummeled by increasingly frequent severe storms. Despite these challenging events, innovation, investment, and hard work in Maine can improve our present and future. To achieve a clean energy future, we will need a massive build out of clean energy resources, energy storage, transmission, and associated projects through an extensive permitting reform process. That’s why we must build on the examples led by the passage of legacy legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act and the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, our nation’s largest investments ever in clean energy. These historic packages work to drive down the costs of oil and gas, while investing in a future of American-produced clean energy. Let’s be clear: combined with support for household energy savers like heat pumps and insulation, the Inflation Reduction Act cuts energy expenses for the average Maine family by almost $2,000 a year – and that’s just the short-term benefits. Looking to the future, we can lower long-term energy costs by incentivizing clean, affordable, American-produced energy. That’s why the Inflation Reduction Act provides much-needed funds to boost domestic manufacturing of wind, solar, hydropower, battery storage, and other key technologies. It’ll help to reduce carbon emissions by nearly 40% from 2005 levels and create thousands of good-paying jobs nationwide. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act also included various provisions to support energy storage, including funding for innovative recycling of critical minerals, long-duration demonstration projects, and a study to ensure our codes and standards were supportive of the technology’s varied uses. These are a bunch of fancy, technical phrases meant to convey that we are making real progress in not only tackling the root causes of climate change but also preparing ourselves for a clean energy future. Lastly, I led the passage of a resolution to restore critical and commonsense regulation of methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. We have a duty to confront this monumental challenge which is why it’s one of my biggest priorities to leave our home in a good place for the future health and success of our children and grandchildren.
On Gun violence...
On Gun violence...
For too long, too many communities have felt the devastation and heartbreak of America’s gun violence epidemic – with each mass shooting and senseless act of violence leaving Americans to wonder if they or their loved ones will be next. We need to protect innocent lives in a manner that is consistent with the 2nd amendment. Plain and simple. Here in Maine, we know this all too well after the events last October in Lewiston. So we must be creative in how we legislate keeping innocent people safe. We can do that by limiting magazine capacity, creating a voluntary national buyback program, or regulating the functionality of guns. My bipartisan GOSAFE Act not only protects our communities, but it also protects the 2nd Amendment. Because we cannot take away the rights of law-abiding gun owners. Even the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia encouraged thoughtful rules and limits on firearms, writing: “Like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited.” I was also a cosponsor of the bipartisan Safer Communities Act which included provisions for red flag laws, investments in mental health services, enhanced background checks and more. We have a storied sportsman culture here in Maine. And we need to protect those rich traditions. And most importantly, we need to keep our community safe. So, I believe in joining any legislation that will legitimately make a difference for long-term benefit of our great state.
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