A transgender-identifying candidate drew widespread attention on social media after entering Maine’s Senate race to replace former Democrat nominee Graham Platner, who dropped out while facing sexual assault allegations.
Ashley Webb caused a social media storm on Thursday after highlighting being a songwriter as a qualification for the United States Senate during a Democrat Maine Senate Debate held by News Center Maine.
When each candidate was given a chance to introduce themselves, Webb said, “The biggest thing I’d like to get across is that we need unity. Whoever wins this nomination, we need to show up at the polls, we need to vote for them, and we need to make sure they win, no matter what. Because what’s going on in this country is not right with the… with the immigration and immigrants are being targeted. They’re being rounded up like animals. It’s not acceptable to allow this to go on in our streets.”
“And then with the trans community, like we’re being dehumanized,” Webb continued. “They say that we want to hurt people. I don’t want to hurt anybody, I just want to use the bathroom. And if they want me to use the men’s room, I will, but I don’t want to be assaulted.”
“And as far as, like, this … what happened in Biddeford, it’s unacceptable. We knew since January that … what ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] has been doing with Alex and Renee,” Webb concluded as a tear fell, referring to the officer-involved shootings of Renee Good, Alex Pretti and Johan Sebastián Guerrero.
The moderators, journalists Rob Caldwell and Phil Hirschkorn, then asked each candidate what qualifications they have for the “extremely important” job of serving in Congress.
“Oh, I ran for office several times. Didn’t win, but I did run,” the Democrat candidate joked. “And then I’m a songwriter and then I write my own books and then I suppose my transparency. I wouldn’t lie to people and I wouldn’t deceive the people like we’re being deceived right now.”
Webb characterized “what’s going on with ICE” as “smoke and mirrors,” arguing that supporters of federal immigration enforcement are “pretending like these victims did something wrong.”
“I suppose the biggest thing is, like, I’m just an angry citizen now, and if I got elected, I’d be an angry senator and I think that would probably be their worst nightmare,” Webb said.
Later in the debate, when asked for specific solutions to address the nearly $40 trillion in national debt and approximately $1.37 trillion annual deficit, Webb suggested cutting government spending, specifically citing President Donald Trump’s renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which was reported to cost about $16 million, according to ABC News.
Hellbound and Down 