For nearly two hours, the eight Republican gubernatorial candidates debated in Bangor Tuesday night without any genuine fireworks between them.
Whether political newcomers or longtime government players in Augusta or Washington, D.C., each man cast himself as the best choice to protect Mainers from fraud, crime, overspending and liberal policies that they painted as the hallmarks of outgoing Gov. Janet Mills’ tenure.
That all changed with real estate executive David Jones’ closing statement, which doubled down on an earlier critique to light up lawyer and former federal official Bobby Charles — who has led in primary polls — blasting him as a Washington insider swooping back into Maine just a few years ago.
“I’ve listened to this guy Bobby Charles, he embellishes everything in his career,” said Jones, who lives in Falmouth. “He’s missed four debates. … The bottom line is, he’s a no show, he dropped into the state in 2022. Whether it’s me or not, all these guys, I like them. Bobby Charles? There’s no way in hell.”
As groans and boos in the Cross Insurance Center grew louder, one Charles supporter wearing a red campaign T-shirt stood and turned her back on Jones’ closing remarks.
Jones also chastised Charles for calls to cut $4 billion from the state budget, denouncing the push as “promises you can’t keep.” Charles frequently fired up the crowd by pledging to slash spending, rid Maine of undocumented immigrants and bolster law enforcement.
“This is what it looks like to be the frontrunner,” he said following Jones’ attack, drawing laughter, cheers and applause at the debate hosted by the conservative Maine Policy Institute and moderated by Steve Robinson, the editor of the group’s news arm.
The debate was the first to feature all eight candidates in the field consisting mostly of Augusta outsiders. Charles has led the field after running for nearly a year, but other candidates in the race have more money. Two rivals — lobbyist and former Maine Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason and entrepreneur Jonathan Bush — are being touted in TV ads.
Mason sought to stand out even though he acknowledged widespread agreement on most issues among the group. He described fraud, corruption and spending as “out of control in Augusta,” and said “we don’t have time for any on-the-job training” to address problems.
Bush stood out by acknowledging his past criticism of President Donald Trump, saying he has been converted to the president’s side on issues including immigration and that his past distance with Trump could help him in a Democratic-leaning state. He said Augusta needs to get out of the way of businesses.
“Prune back every single one,” he said of state agencies.
Similarly, former fitness CEO Ben Midgley, who is backed by members of former Gov. Paul LePage’s inner circle, emphasized his business chops when laying out how he’d tackle leading the Blaine House.
“Not having political experience is fairly common,” he said, citing Reagan and Trump as examples. “I’ve worked with large private institutions for the majority of my career and can be very effective in getting us from point A to point B.”
All the candidates, including state Sen. James Libby of Standish, Gorham businessman Owen McCarthy and South Paris businessman Robert Wessels, said addressing overspending, fraud and abuse would be a top priority if elected.
That message echoed the sentiments of many in the crowd. Charlie Mock, a Bangor paramedic who’s counting down the days to his retirement, said before the debate that he was most concerned about waste.
“The wise use of our money … and that’s from top to bottom,” he said. “If there’s any one thing about our nation right now that pisses me off, I think our deficit, our debt, is the biggest threat we face. And no one seems to be paying attention to it.”
