Politics
Our political journalists are based in the Maine State House and have deep source networks across the partisan spectrum in communities all over the state. Their coverage aims to cut through major debates and probe how officials make decisions. Read more Politics coverage here.
Former clean energy executive Angus King III, the son of U.S. Sen. Angus King, has a lead among likely Democratic voters in the first poll of Maine’s wide-open 2026 gubernatorial race.
The results of the Pan Atlantic Research poll released Monday may surprise those who closely follow Maine politics, given it shows King ahead of well-established Democratic politicians in Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson of Allagash.
But the new survey hints at the power of name recognition the eldest son of Maine’s former governor-turned-junior senator enjoys after King announced his gubernatorial bid in May. The survey is only an early snapshot of sentiment, given that the field is still not set for both parties in the race to succeed Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat termed out of office next year.
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Among likely Democratic primary voters who responded to the survey done in May, a third said they would “likely support” King, followed by 24 percent saying that for Bellows and 13 percent backing Jackson. The survey included many who have not yet declared bids, with former Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree receiving likely support from 20 percent of Democratic voters.
The Republican field is far less set, something the poll results highlighted. The top three names whom party voters said they would likely support were people who have not announced bids: Rep. Laurel Libby of Auburn (27 percent), former U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin (23 percent) and businessman Shawn Moody (21 percent), the party’s 2018 nominee against Mills.
The only declared Republican candidate to register support in the poll was Bobby Charles, who served under several former Republican presidents and garnered likely support from 14 percent of respondents.
King, 54, of Portland is running as a Democrat and as a political unknown despite being named after his father, the independent who caucuses with Democrats and who served as Maine governor from 1995 to 2003 before winning election to the U.S. Senate in 2012. He left his job this year 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.
While praising Mills’ tenure in a May interview, King mentioned “a whole host of challenges” facing Maine, including costs, the housing affordability crisis and the difficulty of operating small businesses in the state.
The Pan Atlantic Research captured sentiment on current officeholders and other matters, such as how voters listed the cost of living and inflation, immigration and housing and homelessness as the top three issues facing Maine.
The Pan Atlantic Research poll had responses from 840 likely voters, with 35 percent of them Democrats, 31 percent identifying as Republicans and 28 percent saying they are independent.
