Former President George W. Bush and his brother, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, held a Monday fundraiser in Kennebunkport for Jonathan Bush, their cousin who is exploring a run for Maine governor in 2026.
The private gathering at the family’s Walker’s Point compound all but confirms Jonathan Bush will eventually enter the race to succeed Gov. Janet Mills, who is termed out of office next year. The 56-year-old health tech entrepreneur said in July he was forming an exploratory committee, a strategy others have used to quietly raise funds before joining the field.
It was an early invocation of a Bush political dynasty that has been relatively quiet in recent years. George W. Bush helped campaign for Jeb during the 2016 Republican presidential primary. President Donald Trump famously slung insults at Jeb Bush and his family during that race, which marked a defeat for the party’s old guard.
A decade after that, Jonathan Bush could put the family back in the picture for high office in a state where it has long had a summer presence but no political foothold. While George and Jeb Bush’s father, the late President George H.W. Bush, was the last Republican presidential candidate to carry by winning Maine in 1988, he finished third here during his 1992 run.
Jonathan Bush, a Cape Elizabeth resident who grew up in Manhattan and cofounded health care tech firm Athenahealth before launching Boston-based Zus Health, has been careful to say he is not aligned with his well-known family members on every issue while criticizing Trump. He has launched a “Maine for Keeps” group and podcast that has critiqued Mills and Maine’s economic policies.
But Monday’s fundraiser is a reminder he is undoubtedly tied to a famous family in American politics and one that adds financial muscle to an eventual gubernatorial campaign. The family name could both hurt and help him with Maine voters at the primary and general election levels.
“He’s been fortunate to receive the support and counsel of Mainers from all over the state and all walks of life, and especially proud to have his family standing strongly by his side,” a spokesperson for Bush’s exploratory committee said in a statement confirming the fundraiser.
Fitness executive Ben Midgley became the latest entrant last week to the Republican field seeking to become Maine’s next governor. Other candidates include entrepreneur Owen McCarthy, Sen. Jim Libby and real estate leader David Jones. Rep. Laurel Libby, 2018 nominee Shawn Moody and former Maine Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason could also run.
The Democratic field is mostly set and includes Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, former Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree and former clean energy executive Angus King III. Sen. Rick Bennett left the Republicans to run as an independent, and Rep. Ed Crockett, now a Democrat, says he will run as an independent.
BDN writer Michael Shepherd contributed to this report.
