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2026 Maine gubernatorial election

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2026 Maine gubernatorial election
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November 3, 2026
2030 →
 
Nominee Hannah Pingree Bobby Charles
Party Democratic Republican
Incumbent Governor

Janet Mills
Democratic



The 2026 Maine gubernatorial election is scheduled to take place on November 3, 2026, to elect the governor of Maine. Incumbent Democratic governor Janet Mills is ineligible to seek re-election to a third consecutive term. Although Maine has adopted ranked-choice voting, it is only used for primary and federal general elections. Therefore, the primary was conducted with ranked-choice voting, and the general election will be conducted with the traditional plurality voting system. Primary elections were held on June 9, 2026.[1]

Democrat Hannah Pingree and Republican Bobby Charles won their respective primaries, and will be joined on the ballot by independent Rick Bennett.[2]

Background

[edit]

Incumbent Democratic governor Janet Mills was re-elected with 55.69% of the vote in 2022 over Republican former governor Paul LePage.[3] Maine had not elected consecutive governors from the same party since Republican Burton M. Cross succeeded Republican Frederick G. Payne after 1952.[4] Conversely, Mills's 2022 re-election, held under Democratic president Joe Biden, was the first time Mainers had elected a governor from the same party as the president since Republican John R. McKernan Jr. was re-elected under Republican president George H. W. Bush in 1990.[5]

A sparsely populated state in New England, Maine is one of the most rural states in the nation and is considered to be moderately blue, having voted for every Democratic presidential nominee since 1992.[5] In 2024, the state voted for Kamala Harris by seven points.[6] Both houses of the Maine Legislature are controlled by the Maine Democratic Party, and Maine's two congressional districts are held by Democrats. A Republican has not received a majority of the vote in a gubernatorial election since 1962, when incumbent Republican John H. Reed received 50.08% of the vote.[5] However, the state still maintains a Republican senator, as Susan Collins won the 2020 U.S. senate election.[7]

Democratic primary

[edit]

Shenna Bellows, Troy Jackson, and Hannah Pingree announced an "alliance" on May 22, 2026, in which they would rank each other ahead of their opponents Angus King III and Nirav Shah; Shah was leading in most public polls.[8] Shah received the most first-preference votes, with 26.8%, followed by Pingree with 23.3%, Jackson with 21.0%, Bellows with 20.7%, and King with 8.2%. As a result of finishing last, King was eliminated and his voters' second preferences were redistributed to the remaining four candidates. Pingree was ultimately nominated after four rounds of ranked-choice tabulation, defeating Shah in the final round by a 56%–44% margin.[2]

Candidates

[edit]

Nominee

[edit]

Eliminated in primary

[edit]

Failed to qualify

[edit]
  • Kenneth Pinet, retired hotel worker[13][14]

Withdrawn

[edit]

Declined

[edit]

Endorsements

[edit]
Shenna Bellows
State legislators
Individuals
Labor unions
Organizations
Troy Jackson
U.S. senators
U.S. representatives
Statewide officials
State legislators
Local officials
Individuals
Labor unions
Organizations
Angus King III
U.S. senators
Hannah Pingree
Executive branch officials
Statewide officials
State legislators
Individuals
Organizations
Nirav Shah
Local officials
Labor unions
Organizations

Fundraising

[edit]

Italics indicates a withdrawn or disqualified candidate

Campaign finance reports as of May 28, 2026
Candidate Raised Spent Cash on hand
Shenna Bellows (D) $1,788,987.24 $1,447,114.88 $367,068.15
Jason Cherry (D)[a] $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Troy Jackson (D) $981,248.74 $747,698.62 $255,494.07
Angus King III (D) $1,921,242.73 $1,692,317.07 $228,925.66
Kenneth Forrest Pinet (D)[a] $775.00 $775.00 $0.00
Hannah Pingree (D) $2,123,468.39 $1,030,453.75 $420,028.18
Nirav Shah (D) $1,241,045.91 $944,715.86 $288,331.47
Source: Maine Ethics Commission[56]

Polling

[edit]
Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[b] 		Margin
of error 		Round Shenna
Bellows 		Troy
Jackson 		Angus
King III 		Hannah
Pingree 		Nirav
Shah 		Other Undecided
SurveyUSA[57] May 28 – June 3, 2026 484
[c] 		± 5.4% Round 1 11% 20% 14% 19% 25% – 11%
Round 2 – N/A[d] – –
Round 3 – 31% – 33% 36% – –
Round 4 – – – 52% 48% – –
University of New Hampshire[58] May 21–25, 2026 595 (LV) ± 4.0% – 13% 28% 7% 12% 28% 1%[e] 11%
Impact Research[59] May 19–21, 2026 500 (LV) ± 4.4% – 15% 24% 9% 16% 32% – 4%
Pan Atlantic Research[60] May 8–18, 2026 402 (LV) – – 10% 12% 24% 9% 29% – 16%
GQR (D)[61][A] May 6–9, 2026 500 (LV) – – 18% 15% 12% 20% 32% – 3%
Schoen Cooperman Research (D)[62][B] April 30 – May 4, 2026 522 (LV) – – 16% 13% 21% 15% 28% – 7%
Impact Research (D)[63][C] March 19–23, 2026 500 (LV) ± 4.4% – 17% 18% 9% 16% 31% – 6%
Pan Atlantic Research[64] February 13 – March 2, 2026 367 (LV) – – 16% 10% 24% 18% 24% 10%[f] –
University of New Hampshire[65] February 12–16, 2026 462 (LV) ± 4.5% – 19% 16% 5% 10% 25% 1%[g] 23%
Hart Research (D)[66][D] January 15–19, 2026 502 (LV) ± 4.5% – 11% 9% 13% 13% 35% – 18%
Pan Atlantic Research[67] November 29 – December 7, 2025 318 (LV) ± 6.1% – 16% 8% 19% 18% 24% – 15%
GQR (D)[61][A] October 2025 – – – 24% 14% 15% 16% 16% – 16%
Pan Atlantic Research[68] May 12–26, 2025 325 (LV) ± 6.1% – 24% 13% 33% 20% – – 10%

Debates

[edit]
2026 Maine gubernatorial election Democratic primary debates
No. Date Host Moderator Link Democratic Democratic Democratic Democratic Democratic
Key:
 P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
Shenna Bellows Troy Jackson Angus King III Hannah Pingree Nirav Shah
1 April 30, 2026 WMTW-TV
WABI-TV
WAGM-TV 		Terry Stackhouse YouTube P P P P P
2 May 5, 2026 WGME-TV
Bangor Daily News 		Gregg Lagerquist
Mike Shepherd 		YouTube P P P P P
3 May 14, 2026 WCSH-TV Rob Caldwell
Phil Hirschkorn 		YouTube P P P P P

Results

[edit]
Democratic primary results[69]
Party Candidate Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4
Votes % Transfer Votes % Transfer Votes % Transfer Votes %
Democratic Hannah Pingree 50,552 23.3 +4,808 55,360 26.0 + 20,311 75,671 36.3 + 36,079 111,750 56.2
Democratic Nirav Shah 58,606 26.8 + 4,255 62,860 29.5 +9,821 72,681 34.8 + 14,269 86,950 43.8
Democratic Troy Jackson 45,959 21.1 + 1,638 47,597 22.3 + 12,413 60,010 28.8 - 60,010 Eliminated
Democratic Shenna Bellows 44,770 20.6 + 2,279 47,049 22.1 - 47,049 Eliminated
Democratic Angus King III 17,860 8.3 - 17,860 Eliminated
Continuing ballots 217,747 100.0
212,848 97.8
208,542 100.0
198,700 91.1
Exhausted ballots – + 4,881 4,881 2.2 + 4,504 9,385 4.3 + 9,662 19,047 8.9
Total votes 217,747 100.0
217,747 100.0
217,747 100.0
217,747 100.0

Republican primary

[edit]

All Republican candidates said that they opposed ranked choice voting. Robert Charles was particularly critical of ranked choice voting and encouraged Republican primary voters to rank him across the ballot and not rank other candidates. Charles criticized what he called "back room deals" among other candidates to encourage their supporters to rank another candidate second, claiming other candidates could not be trusted to work to repeal ranked choice voting while encouraging its use.[70][71] The candidates who endorsed a second choice were Robert Wessels, who endorsed Jonathan Bush as his second choice, Ben Midgley, who endorsed David Jones as his second choice, and David Jones, who endorsed Midgley as his second choice.

Charles would win 37.7% of the vote, with Midgley and Bush finishing with 20.1% and 19.8% respectively, and every other candidate some distance behind them. State senator James Libby, who had suspended his campaign in April but did not formally withdrawn from the race, finished in last.[72] After seven rounds of ranked-choice voting tabulation, Charles was declared the winner.[73]

Candidates

[edit]

Nominee

[edit]

Eliminated in primary

[edit]

Failed to qualify

[edit]

Withdrawn

[edit]

Declined

[edit]
  • Rick Bennett, state senator, former President of the Maine Senate, and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2012 (running as an Independent)[87]
  • Laurel Libby, state representative from the 90th district (2022–present) and the 64th district (2020–2022)[88]
  • Shawn Moody, businessperson, nominee for governor in 2018, independent candidate for governor in 2010 (initially formed exploratory committee)[89]
  • Ray Richardson, political analyst and radio host[20]

Endorsements

[edit]
Jonathan Bush
Federal officials
State legislators
Individuals
  • Billy Bush, television host (candidate's brother)[91]
  • Robert Wessels, candidate for governor in 2026 (second choice)[92]
Bobby Charles
U.S. representatives
David Jones
Individuals
  • Ben Midgley, businessman and 2026 candidate for governor (second choice)[94]
Garrett Mason
State legislators
Ben Midgley
Individuals
  • David Jones, real estate executive and 2026 candidate for governor (second choice)[94]

Fundraising

[edit]

Italics indicates a withdrawn or disqualified candidate

Campaign finance reports as of May 28, 2026
Candidate Raised Spent Cash on hand
Jonathan Bush (R) $1,709,651.00 $2,439,491.69 $131,659.31
Kenneth Capron (R)[a] $3,511.30 $3,316.87 $194.43
David J. Foster (R)[a] $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Bobby Charles (R) $1,020,570.20 $819,932.18 $277,293.30
David Jones (R) $529,512.02 $401,943.87 $123,617.44
James Libby (R)[a] $17,025.00 $17,010.39 $98.76
Owen McCarthy (R) $386,142.23 $405,804.00 $115,275.00
Ben Midgley (R) $322,263.00 $626,642.18 $445,620.82
Robert Wessels (R) $61,162.47 $41,868.01 $19,162.91
Source: Maine Ethics Commission[56]

Polling

[edit]
Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[b] 		Margin
of error 		Jonathan
Bush 		Robert
Charles 		David
Jones 		James
Libby 		Garrett
Mason 		Owen
McCarthy 		Ben
Midgley 		Robert
Wessels 		Other Undecided
SurveyUSA[96][E] May 28 – June 3, 2026 466 (LV) ± 5.7% 17% 34% 2% 0% 10% 7% 11% 2% – 18%
University of New Hampshire[58] May 21–25, 2026 465 (LV) ± 6.3% 18% 37% 7% – 9% 2% 11% 6% 0%[h] 9%
Pan Atlantic Research[60] May 8–18, 2026 287 (LV) – 20% 36% 20% – 13% 4% 2% 1% – 21%
McLaughlin & Associates (R)[97][F] April 28 – April 30, 2026 300 (LV) ± 5.7% 11% 47% 2% – 11% 2% 10% 2% – 16%
April 9, 2026 Libby withdraws
Pan Atlantic Research[64] February 13 – March 2, 2026 298 (LV) – 4% 26% 6% 8% 11% 7% 4% – – 34%
University of New Hampshire[65] February 12–16, 2026 404 (LV) ± 4.9% 5% 28% 7% 2% 12% 1% 6% 4% 3%[i] 31%
Pan Atlantic Research[67] November 29 – December 7, 2025 312 (LV) ± 6.1% 5% 16% 6% 3% – 2% – – – 68%
McLaughlin & Associates (R)[98][F] August 23–25, 2025 300 (LV) ± 4.0% 4% 28% 2% 1% 1% 2% 0.3% 3% 23%[j] 34%
Hypothetical polling
Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[b] 		Margin
of error 		Rick
Bennett 		Jonathan
Bush 		Robert
Charles 		Laurel
Libby 		Garrett
Mason 		Shawn
Moody 		Bruce
Poliquin 		Trey
Stewart
Pan Atlantic Research[68] May 12–26, 2025 293 (LV) ± 8.4% 14% 9% 14% 27% 10% 21% 23% 10%

Debates

[edit]
2026 Maine gubernatorial election Republican primary debates
No. Date Host Moderator Link Republican Republican Republican Republican Republican Republican Republican
Key:
 P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
Jonathan Bush Robert Charles David Jones Garrett Mason Ben Midgley Owen McCarthy Robert Wessels
1 May 5, 2026 WMTW-TV Jon Chrisos YouTube P A P P P P P
2 May 7, 2026 Bangor Daily News
WGME-TV 		Gregg Lagerquist
Mike Shepherd 		YouTube P A P P P P N
2 May 14, 2026 WCSH-TV Rob Caldwell
Phil Hirschkorn 		YouTube P P P P P P P

Convention vote

[edit]

On April 25, 2026, the Maine Republican Party announced the results of a straw poll by delegates to the Maine Republican Convention. Robert Charles was declared the winner.[99] Unlike the primary, the straw poll was conducted without ranked-choice voting, and was non-binding.

Results

[edit]
Republican convention straw poll results
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Robert Charles 269 31.87%
Republican Ben Midgley 230 27.25%
Republican Jonathan Bush 96 11.37%
Republican Garrett Mason 76 9.00%
Republican Owen McCarthy 74 8.77%
Republican Robert Wessels 54 6.34%
Republican David Jones 45 5.33%
Total votes 844 100.00%

Results

[edit]
Republican primary results[100]
Party Candidate Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Round 7
Votes % Transfer Votes % Transfer Votes % Transfer Votes % Transfer Votes % Transfer Votes % Transfer Votes %
Republican Robert Charles 49,129 38.0 + 165 49,294 38.3 + 486 49,780 39.9 + 582 50,342 40.0 + 574 50,916 41.2 + 2,330 53,246 45.9 + 6,627 59,873 60.2
Republican Ben Midgley 25,880 20.0 + 87 25,967 20.2 + 583 26,650 20.9 + 693 27,243 21.6 + 1,293 28,536 23.1 + 3,017 31,553 27.2 + 7,946 39,499 38.8
Republican Jonathan Bush 25,449 19.7 + 254 25,703 20.0 + 389 26,092 20.4 + 682 26,744 21.2 + 1,024 27,768 22.5 + 3,336 31,104 26.8 -31,104 Eliminated
Republican Garrett Mason 14,820 11.4 + 185 15,005 11.7 + 337 15,342 12.0 + 419 15,761 12.5 + 677 16,438 13.3 - 16,438 Eliminated
Republican Owen McCarthy 5,033 3.9 + 225 5,258 4.1 + 270 5,528 4.3 + 241 5,769 4.6 - 5,769 Eliminated
Republican David Jones 3,740 2.9 + 134 3,874 3.0 + 174 4,048 3.2 - 4,048 Eliminated
Republican Robert Wessels 3,525 2.7 + 112 3,637 2.8 - 3,637 Eliminated
Republican James Libby (withdrawn) 1,831 1.4 - 1,831 Eliminated
Continuing ballots 129,407 100.0
128,738 99.5
127,740 98.4
125,859 97.3
123,658 95.6 115,903 89.6 99,372 76.8
Exhausted ballots – + 669 669 0.5 + 1,398 2,067 1.6 + 1,471 3,538 2.7 + 2,201 5,739 4.4 + 7,775 13,541 10.4 + 16,531 30,045 23.2
Total votes 129,407 100.0
129,407 100.0
129,407 100.0
129,407 100.0
129,407 100.0 129,407 100.0 129,407 100.0

Independents

[edit]

Candidates

[edit]

Declared

[edit]

Failed to qualify for ballot

[edit]

Fundraising

[edit]
Campaign finance reports as of May 28, 2026
Candidate Raised Spent Cash on hand
Richard Bennett (I) $664,631.42 $585,378.45 $78,321.02
Ed Crockett (I) $9,116.98 $3,982.91 $4,589.61
John Glowa (I) $3,146.00 $2,262.00 $946.00
Alexander Murchison (I) $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Source: Maine Ethics Commission[56]

General election

[edit]

Predictions

[edit]
Source Ranking As of
Inside Elections[106] Likely D August 28, 2025
Race to the WH[107] Lean D June 22,2026
RealClearPolitics[108] Lean D June 5, 2026
Sabato's Crystal Ball[109] Lean D September 4, 2025
The Cook Political Report[110] Likely D September 11, 2025

Endorsements

[edit]
Rick Bennett (I)
Executive branch officials
State legislators
Political parties
Hannah Pingree (D)
Organizations

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2026 State Primary Election Dates". National Conference of State Legislatures. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Hannah Pingree wins ranked-choice runoff in Democratic primary for governor". The Portland Press Herald. June 19, 2026. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  3. ^ Mistler, Steve (November 9, 2022). "Maine Gov. Janet Mills wins second term, defeating former GOP Gov. Paul LePage". NPR. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  4. ^ a b Pendharkar, Eesha (March 26, 2025). "Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows officially announces bid for governor". Maine Morning Star. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c "Maine Election Returns". www.maine.gov. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  6. ^ "2024 Maine Election Results". AP News. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  7. ^ "GOP Sen. Susan Collins wins reelection in Maine". PBS News. November 4, 2020. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Brodey, Sam (May 28, 2026). "It has famous names, wildcards, and a COVID doctor: How Maine's governor race became the primary to watch - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved May 28, 2026.
  9. ^ Flisiuk, Francis (June 10, 2025). "Hannah Pingree announces campaign for Maine Governor". WMTW. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  10. ^ Hilton, Annmarie (May 19, 2025). "Former Senate President Troy Jackson enters race for governor". Maine Morning Star. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
  11. ^ Everett, Burgess (May 6, 2025). "King of Maine? Angus King III launches governor bid". Semafor.
  12. ^ Miller, Kevin (October 20, 2025). "Former Maine CDC director, Dr. Nirav Shah, joins Democratic race for governor". Maine Public Broadcasting Network. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
  13. ^ a b "Angus King III leads Democrats in the 1st poll of 2026 Maine governor's race". WGME. June 3, 2025. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  14. ^ a b c d "Here are the Senate and Maine governor candidates who qualified for June primaries". The Portland Press Herald. March 16, 2026. Retrieved March 17, 2026.
  15. ^ "Jason Cherry drops out of gubernatorial race, switches to new campaign". WABI-TV. March 4, 2026. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
  16. ^ @JoeBaldacci (March 30, 2025). "Many, many nice people have asked if I was interested in running for Governor. I have no plans to do so because I am supporting my friend and former colleague and former Senate President Troy Jackson for Governor" (Tweet) – via X (formerly Twitter).
  17. ^ Kobin, Billy (May 20, 2025). "Jared Golden will run for reelection in Maine's 2nd District in 2026". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  18. ^ Shepherd, Michael (May 6, 2025). "Angus King's son will run for governor as a Democrat in 2026". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
  19. ^ Goldmacher, Shane (September 3, 2025). "Dan Kleban Joins Maine Democratic Primary, Seeking to Unseat Senator Susan Collins". The New York Times. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  20. ^ a b Shepherd, Michael; Klobin, Billy (December 2, 2024). "The famous names and familiar faces considering a run for Maine governor". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  21. ^ Tepler, Denise (May 22, 2026). "If women lead, Maine will respond — Letter".
  22. ^ a b c Andrews, Ethan (May 21, 2026). "Graham Platner shares his votes in Maine's Democratic gubernatorial primary". Bangor Daily News.
  23. ^ a b c Berry, Shawn (April 29, 2026). "Maine Education Association, State's Largest Union, Ranks Three Candidates for Governor". Maine Education Association. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
  24. ^ a b "Members of MSEA-SEIU Local 1989 recommend Troy Jackson first and Shenna Bellows second in the June 9th ranked-choice primary election for governor". MSEA-SEIU Local 1989. April 27, 2026.
  25. ^ "Endorsements". Maine People's Alliance. Retrieved November 13, 2025.
  26. ^ a b c Steinmetz, Channa (April 22, 2026). "Sierra Club endorses Bellows, Jackson and Pingree for Maine governor - Maine Beacon". Maine Beacon. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
  27. ^ Burns, Christopher (May 21, 2025). "Bernie Sanders endorses Troy Jackson for Maine's next governor". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  28. ^ Cohen, Larry (February 27, 2026). "The Candidate From Rural Maine Fighting Big Money". Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  29. ^ Carpenter, Michael (March 30, 2026). "Letter: Troy Jackson should be Maine's next governor". Retrieved March 31, 2026.
  30. ^ Brodey, Sam; Pindell, James (June 10, 2025). "Fresher faces, same names: Meet New England's new crop of politicians' relatives who are looking at elected office". Boston Globe. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  31. ^ a b O'Brien, Andy (July 21, 2025). "Help Us Put a Working Class Candidate in the Blaine House". Maine AFL-CIO. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  32. ^ McCusker, Cate (February 26, 2026). "Portland mayor endorses Troy Jackson for Maine governor". WMTW. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  33. ^ a b c Graham, Gillian (May 19, 2025). "Troy Jackson announces run for Maine governor". Portland Press Herald. Archived from the original on May 20, 2025. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  34. ^ "Professional Fire Fighters of Maine Endorse Troy Jackson for Governor | Maine AFL-CIO". maineaflcio.org. September 19, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2026.
  35. ^ Stockford, Griffin (May 19, 2025). "Former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson running for governor in 2026". News Center Maine. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  36. ^ Teamsters Joint Council 10 [@NewEnglandTeamsters] (May 20, 2025). "Maine Teamsters Endorse Troy Jackson for Governor: Teamsters Local 340 joined major unions today to back Troy Jackson's campaign for Governor of Maine". Facebook. Retrieved August 13, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  37. ^ "Platner and Jackson endorsed by Maine State Nurses Association". WMTW-TV. September 18, 2025. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  38. ^ "Maine DSA proudly endorses Troy Jackson for Governor!". Instagram. May 7, 2026.
  39. ^ "Troy Jackson for Governor – Maine". Our Revolution. May 29, 2025. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  40. ^ Everett, Burgess (May 6, 2025). "King of Maine? Angus King III launches governor bid". Semafor. Retrieved August 13, 2025. He's also candid about his easy endorsement from one of the state's most popular politicians: his father, who just won a third term in the Senate and served two terms as governor.
  41. ^ a b c d McCauley, Lauren; Hilton, AnnMarie (November 7, 2025). "Maine House Speaker Fecteau backs Pingree for governor • Maine Morning Star". Maine Morning Star. Retrieved November 13, 2025.
  42. ^ McHatten, Brittany (May 12, 2026). "Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey endorses Hannah Pingree for governor". WABI-TV. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  43. ^ Ohm, Rachel (May 19, 2026). "Janet Mills endorses Hannah Pingree for governor". Portland Press Herald.
  44. ^ Seitz-Wald, Alex [@aseitzwald] (March 19, 2026). "Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger endorses Hannah Pingree for Maine governor" (Tweet). Retrieved March 20, 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  45. ^ Bromley, Lynn (December 26, 2025). "Coalition-builder Pingree is the governor Maine needs | Letter". Centralmaine.com. Retrieved January 27, 2026.
  46. ^ Flisiuk, Francis (November 7, 2025). "Maine House speaker to endorse Hannah Pingree for governor". WMTW. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  47. ^ Gattine, Drew (February 6, 2026). "Hannah Pingree will deliver results for all Mainers – Opinion". Portland Press Herald.
  48. ^ Hubbell, Brian (February 6, 2026). "Pingree's proven skills". Mount Desert Islander.
  49. ^ Sanborn, Lisa (May 16, 2026). "If you care about healthcare, rank Hannah Pingree No. 1".
  50. ^ Tepler, Denise (May 22, 2026). "If women lead, Maine will respond — Letter".
  51. ^ Kobin, Billy (March 11, 2026). "Stephen King endorses a Maine governor candidate". The Portland Press Herald. Retrieved March 11, 2026.
  52. ^ "With rare primary endorsement, environmental PAC backs Hannah Pingree for Maine governor". Maine Morning Star. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  53. ^ "Candidates". Vote Mama PAC. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
  54. ^ "Lewiston mayor endorses Dr. Nirav Shah for governor". WGME. April 9, 2026. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  55. ^ "314 Action Fund Endorses Nirav Shah for Maine Governor". 3.14 Action. December 16, 2025. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  56. ^ a b c "Maine Ethics Commission – Candidates". Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  57. ^ "Maine Primary Voters Poised to Pick Bobby Charles as GOP Nominee for Governor, Joe Baldacci for Dems in CD2; Hannah Pingree Leads Narrowly in Dem Governor's Race:". June 4, 2026.
  58. ^ a b McKinley, Sean P.; Smith, Andrew E.; Azem, Zachary S.; Keirns, Tracy (May 27, 2026). "Platner Leads Collins in Maine Senate Race". University of New Hampshire. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
  59. ^ @JacobRubashkin (May 22, 2026). "In Maine's governor race, Democrat Troy Jackson is now in second place in a new poll obtained by @InsideElections" (Tweet). Retrieved May 22, 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  60. ^ a b "69th Omnibus Poll" (PDF). May 20, 2026.
  61. ^ a b @Alex_Roarty (May 14, 2026). "New internal poll from Hannah Pingree's campaign of the Maine Dem guv primary:Pingree: 20% Bellows: 18% Shah: 32% Jackson: 15% King: 12% Undecided: 3% On informed ballot (respondents given bios of each candidate), Pingree goes from 20% --> 24%, Shah shrinks from 32% --> 29%" (Tweet). Retrieved May 14, 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  62. ^ @AdamWren (May 13, 2026). "New poll: Nirav Shah is leading the field in Maine Democratic gov primary" (Tweet). Retrieved May 13, 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  63. ^ @TroyJackson207 (March 27, 2026). "Exciting news! New polling out today has us in 2nd in the Maine gubernatorial primary. Even more exciting: once folks learn more about the candidates, we're tied for first. We're not from the left. We're not from the right. We're from the bottom. And we're rising like crazy" (Tweet). Retrieved March 27, 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  64. ^ a b "68th Omnibus Poll". Pan Atlantic Research. March 4, 2026. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
  65. ^ a b McKinley, Sean P.; Smith, Andrew E.; Azem, Zachary S.; Keirns, Tracy (February 24, 2026). "In Maine Senate Race, Platner Leads Mills in Primary and Collins in General Election Matchup". University of New Hampshire. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  66. ^ "Dr. Nirav Shah the Leader in Just-Completed Survey of Maine Democratic Primary Voters". Hart Research. January 26, 2026. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  67. ^ a b "67th Omnibus Poll" (PDF). Pan Atlantic Research. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
  68. ^ a b "66th Omnibus Poll" (PDF). WGME. Retrieved January 4, 2026.
  69. ^ "Hannah Pingree wins ranked-choice runoff in Democratic primary for governor". The Portland Press Herald. June 19, 2026. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
  70. ^ Mistler, Steve (May 15, 2026). "Looking to topple Bobby Charles, Maine's GOP primary candidates are turning to an unlikely tool". MPBN. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
  71. ^ Miller, Kevin (May 8, 2026). "Some, but not all, GOP gubernatorial candidates are embracing ranked-choice voting". MPBN. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
  72. ^ "What to watch for as Maine races head to ranked-choice runoffs". The Portland Press Herald. June 10, 2026. Retrieved June 10, 2026.
  73. ^ "Bobby Charles holds lead to win Republican primary for governor after RCV runoff". The Portland Press Herald. June 19, 2026. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  74. ^ Kobin, Billy (April 15, 2025). "He served under George W. Bush. Now he's running for Maine governor". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  75. ^ Kobin, Billy (October 8, 2025). "Jonathan Bush joins the Republican field vying to become Maine governor". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved October 8, 2025.
  76. ^ Shepherd, Michael (January 7, 2026). "Garrett Mason runs for Maine governor with the help of a top JD Vance ally". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
  77. ^ Kobin, Billy (August 5, 2025). "Former fitness executive Ben Midgley joins Maine Republican governor's race". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved August 6, 2025.
  78. ^ Cover, Susan (May 20, 2025). "Falmouth Republican launches bid for Maine governor in 2026". Spectrum News. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  79. ^ "Businessman Owen McCarthy joins Gubernatorial race". WABI-TV. June 11, 2025. Retrieved June 11, 2025.
  80. ^ Patten, Sam (February 24, 2025). "Contenders for the Blaine House in 2026 Start Lining Up". The Maine Wire. Retrieved February 25, 2025.
  81. ^ "Ken Capron announces run for Maine governor in 2026 race". WCSH. May 26, 2025. Retrieved May 27, 2025.
  82. ^ "Maine Ethics Commission – David J. Foster". mainecampaignfinance.com. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
  83. ^ St Pierre, Ariana (May 22, 2025). "Sen. James Libby running for governor of Maine". WGME-TV. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  84. ^ Reed, Russ (April 9, 2026). "Republican State Sen. Jim Libby to drop out of Maine governor's race". WMTW. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  85. ^ a b "Former Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Libby throws support behind Jonathan Bush". WPFO. May 4, 2026.
  86. ^ "Steven Christopher Sheppard – Maine Campaign Finance". Maine Campaign Finance. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  87. ^ a b "State Sen. Rick Bennett launches gubernatorial campaign for 2026". WCSH. June 24, 2025. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
  88. ^ Flisiuk, Francis (November 17, 2025). "Maine Rep. Laurel Libby won't seek reelection, announces launch of conservative super PAC". WMTW. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  89. ^ "Shawn Moody Suspends Gubernatorial Campaign Amid Health Concerns". Newsradio WGAN. Retrieved January 5, 2026.
  90. ^ Cianchette, Peter (May 22, 2026). "Support Jonathan Bush for Governor".
  91. ^ Reed, Russ (October 8, 2025). "Jonathan Bush announces he's running for governor of Maine". WMTW. Retrieved October 8, 2025.
  92. ^ Bartow, Adam (May 7, 2026). "Robert Wessels takes role in Jonathan Bush's campaign, but isn't dropping his own bid for Maine governor". WMTW-TV. Wessels confirmed to Maine's Total Coverage that he is still running and will be ranking himself as his first choice on his ballot in June and Bush as his second choice.
  93. ^ Cover, Susan (March 24, 2026). "Newt Gingrich endorses Bobby Charles for Maine governor". Spectrum News. Retrieved March 24, 2026.
  94. ^ a b "Bobby Charles is wrong to make a bogeyman of the ballot | Steve Collins". The Portland Press Herald. May 14, 2026. Retrieved May 14, 2026. David Jones and Ben Midgley, both angling for Republican gubernatorial backing, cross-endorsed each other last week — asking their voters to rank the other candidate second.
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  103. ^ Cover, Susan (April 18, 2025). "Republican focused on fighting crime launches bid for Maine governor". Spectrum News. Retrieved June 2, 2025.
  104. ^ "Derek Levasseur enters Maine governor race". WGME. November 7, 2025. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  105. ^ Billings, Randy (May 15, 2025). "Hannah Pingree to step down from Mills administration". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
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  111. ^ a b Mundry, Jackie (November 20, 2025). "Former New Jersey governor campaigns in Maine for Rick Bennett". WMTW. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  112. ^ a b "State lawmakers endorse independent Rick Bennett for governor". News Center Maine. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
  113. ^ "EMILYs List Endorses Hannah Pingree for Maine Governor". emilyslist.org. June 22, 2026. Retrieved June 24, 2026.
  1. ^ a b c d e Withdrawn candidate
  2. ^ a b c Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
  3. ^ Sample includes a mix of likely and actual voters.
  4. ^ The candidates' percentages in the second round of the poll are not explicitly stated.
  5. ^ "Another candidate" with 1%
  6. ^ Jason Cherry with 6%, Kenneth Pinet with 4%
  7. ^ "Another candidate" with 1%; Kenneth Pinet with 0%
  8. ^ "Another candidate" with 0%
  9. ^ "Another candidate" with 3%
  10. ^ Shawn Moody with 23%
  1. ^ a b Poll sponsored by Pingree's campaign.
  2. ^ Poll sponsored by 314 Action, which has endorsed Shah's campaign.
  3. ^ Poll sponsored by Jackson's campaign.
  4. ^ Poll sponsored by Shah's campaign.
  5. ^ Poll sponsored by the Bangor Daily News and FairVote
  6. ^ a b Poll sponsored by Charles' campaign.
[edit]
Official campaign websites
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