AUGUSTA, Maine — Former clean energy executive Angus King III, the oldest son of Maine’s junior senator, announced Tuesday that he would run for governor as a Democrat in 2026.
He will be the second Democrat with political connections to join next year’s race after Secretary of State Shenna Bellows declared in March. Only two Republicans are running. Both parties are poised to see their fields grow substantially over the rest of the year in a wide-open contest to replace the term-limited Gov. Janet Mills.
King, 54, of Portland, begins the race as a political unknown in his own right despite being named for his well-known father, who left the Democratic Party to become the state’s second-ever independent governor in 1994. The younger King’s campaign shared a logo that underscores he is running as a Democrat.
“I couldn’t feel luckier to have grown up and learned about integrity, character and the value of public service and how you bring people together to solve big problems,” he said of his father in an interview. “But I have also spent my life as an adult building things that solve problems to help people.”
King attended his father’s alma mater of Dartmouth College, graduating in 1993 before going on to jobs at the consultancy Bain and Company and then working as an assistant to the chief of staff in former President Bill Clinton’s White House.
He returned to Maine in 2002 and held a series of jobs in the renewable energy industry. He recently left his job as president of Peaks Renewables, a natural gas company that has been working on a well-publicized initiative that produces methane fuel from cow manure at a plant in Clinton.
King focused heavily on economic issues in an interview. While praising Mills’ tenure, he said there are “a whole host of challenges” facing Maine, including costs, the housing affordability crisis and a need to make sure it is easier to operate small businesses in the state.
Famous names could be a theme in the race to replace Mills. Former Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree, the daughter of U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree of the 1st District, is widely expected to run. Republican Jonathan J. Bush, an entrepreneur who is the nephew of President George H.W. Bush and the cousin of President George W. Bush, also may run.
Other potential candidates on the Democratic side include Senate President Troy Jackson, who has launched an exploratory effort, as well as U.S. Rep. Jared Golden of the 2nd District and Maine Beer Co. co-founder Dan Kleban.
Attorney Bobby Charles is the best-known Republican running so far, with entrepreneur Owen McCarthy of Gorham exploring a campaign. Among the other possible candidates are lobbyist and former Maine Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason, state Rep. Laurel Libby of Auburn, businessman Ben Midgley and 2018 Republican nominee Shawn Moody.
