Brian Duff quoted in story on Rep. Chellie Pingree's travel controversy

Brian Duff, Ph.D., assistant professor of political science, was quoted in a Sept. 27, 2010 Kennebec Journal story on the controversy over Rep. Chellie Pingree's trips on a private jet owned by billionaire Wall Street financier S. Donald Sussman, to whom Pingree said she is engaged. Pingree's travel was approved by the House's Ethics Committee. Duff said that no matter what the facts are, the overall storyline will influence some voters' perception. "People love to think about congressmen living high on the hog off of lobbyist's dollars," said Duff. "Whatever the details, this story's going to fit into that narrative in a way that's not going to help her reputation with voters." He added that "It will be interesting to see whether it's harder for Pingree to push these things into the category of 'This is family business'" since Sussman is her fiancee, rather than a spouse. "I do think there could be a gender thing here."

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