This weekend I had the pleasure of attending my first Maine Republican State Convention at the Cross Center in Bangor. There was an excellent turnout and speeches were given by all of the Republican congressional candidates.

Sharon Day, co-chair of the Republican National Committee, rallied the crowd as she affirmed that the national strategy from now on will no longer focus on just the battleground states; instead it will be a focus on all 50 states. U.S. Sen. Rand Paul’s speech drove home the point that Republicans need to be a more inclusive party, not just the party of old, angry, rich, white men. He also spoke about Hillary Clinton’s handling of Benghazi, concluding that anyone who handled the situation like this should be permanently precluded from seeking higher office. This drew the biggest standing ovation of the weekend.

Some highlights for me begin with Bruce Poliquin, candidate for the second Congressional district, who gave an excellent presentation. If he wins the nomination, clearly this appearance will have been the difference maker. His opponent in the primary, Kevin Raye, also spoke, along with first Congressional district candidate Isaac Misiuk, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory.

With the first lady, Ann LePage, by his side, Gov. Paul LePage closed out the event outlining his accomplishments of welfare reform, fighting against EBT fraud, repayment of debt to Maine’s hospitals and the large drop in Maine’s unemployment rate since he took office.

Everybody had a good time and there was a spirit of unity ”“ hopefully a good sign of things to come. Now that the election season has officially begun, the Biddeford Republican City Committee looks forward to supporting all of our local candidates.

-Mike Clukey, Biddeford Republican City Committee