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.
The money race to replace outgoing Gov. Janet Mills is taking shape on two tracks: a tight, donor-driven battle between Democrats Hannah Pingree and Shenna Bellows, and a Republican field fueled in large part by candidates’ own wealth.
Campaign finance filings that were due to the state Tuesday showed Pingree, a former Maine House speaker, and Bellows, the secretary of state, emerging as the dominant financial players in the Democratic race. They raised nearly identical amounts of more than $500,000 between Jan. 1 and April 21, with Pingree leading the field with $870,000 left.
On the Republican side, the filings are defined by heavy reliance on self-funding rather than robust donor support. More than $2 million of what the seven-man field raised — roughly one-third of the collective haul — came from loans or other forms of self-funding.
Health tech entrepreneur Jonathan Bush leads the field in total dollars raised at more than $2.2 million, but nearly $900,000 of that comes from himself. Former fitness executive Ben Midgley has relied even more heavily on self-funding as a share of his haul, with $750,000 in loans making up three-quarters of his campaign resources.
Attorney and former federal official Bobby Charles, entrepreneur Owen McCarthy and former Maine Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason have also turned to loans to varying degrees to remain competitive. Mason’s campaign is reliant on a billionaire-funded outside group that has spent nearly $3.3 million on ad reservations on his behalf.
Former Maine public health chief Nirav Shah has been the frontrunner in Democratic polls but remains a step behind financially, with roughly $900,000 raised and a more conservative spending strategy that left him with more than $400,000 on hand.
Former Senate President Troy Jackson and businessman Angus King III are further back, both having spent a larger share of their fundraising and entering the final stretch with smaller cash reserves.
Pingree was the first Democrat with a spot on TV earlier this month, coinciding with the launch of a statewide tour of town halls and other events. After a $100,000-plus ad buy starting this week, Pingree’s combined spending and reserved ads total more than $561,000.
Shah and Bellows both have more than $460,000 in future ads booked as of Tuesday night. Democrat Angus King III, a former clean energy executive and son of independent U.S. Sen. Angus King, has reserved almost $300,000 in future ads.
On the Republican side, Bush reserved more than $134,000 in ads this week and has more than $700,000 booked in the future. His campaign and a PAC supporting him, Maine Dream Inc., have reserved more than $2 million combined in ads, according to AdImpact data.
Pingree has topped both Shah and Charles, raising more than $1.9 million since the campaign began, including more than $510,000 since January.
Midgley, who is backed by members of former Gov. Paul LePage’s inner circle, has reserved more than $54,000 in ads on Fox News Channel across Portland, Bangor and Presque Isle starting Wednesday. McCarthy is also getting on the air Wednesday, with more than $40,000 in ads reserved on cable TV, according to AdImpact.
State Sen. Rick Bennett, the former Maine Republican Party chair who launched an independent bid last year, announced Tuesday that he’s raised $617,000 since the campaign began.
Seen by some lawmakers and strategists as a credible threat in a polarized political environment, Bennett has been targeted early by Democrats and backed by some Republicans openly banking on him being a spoiler candidate. His campaign had almost $115,000 on hand as of Tuesday.
