Maine voters will select a new governor in 2018 from one of the largest fields of candidates in recent history. Here is a rundown of who’s in the race to replace outgoing Republican Gov. Paul LePage. Primary elections are scheduled for June 12, and the general election will be held Nov. 6, 2018.
Age: 59
Hometown: Gorham
Profession: Environmental consultant, business owner
Previous elected office: Maine Senate from 2012 to 2014
Party affiliation: Democrat
Talking points: “Maine was once a place where you could work hard and build a good life for your family. It didn’t matter if you lived in Fort Kent, Portland or Millinocket,” he said in a statement. “But those opportunities no longer exist for too many people. I can’t sit on my hands and watch Maine become a place where hard-working people get left behind.”
Age: 44
Hometown: Sanford
Profession: Attorney, Maine National Guard combat veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
Previous elected office: None
Party affiliation: Democrat
Talking points: “With new leadership grounded in Maine values like hard work, innovation, a welcoming spirit and a belief that every person is deserving of respect, we will grow a strong economy that works for all of us, with good paying jobs in every part of Maine.”
Age: 61 (as of September, 2016)
Hometown: Bangor
Profession: Former banker
Previous elected office: None
Party affiliation: Green Party
Talking points: (Candidate did not respond to requests for information)
Age: 75
Hometown: Augusta
Profession: Retired U.S. Coast Guard officer
Previous elected office: None
Party affiliation: Democrat
Talking points: “If elected, I will fight for Maine’s prosperity and against the same lies, hate, and bigotry that is so prevalent today in our state and nation. The problems we face as Americans, like health care, affect all of us regardless of party affiliation. We have to decide if we are going to put our focus on collectively solving those problems or continue to bash each other.”
Age: 40
Hometown: North Berwick
Profession: Family therapist
Previous elected office: Maine House of Representatives from 2008 to 2016. Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives from 2012 to 2016
Party affiliation: Democrat
Talking points: “We need a jobs plan tailored to every corner of the state, because what works in Kittery may be different from Minot or Madawaska, but everyone deserves a shot at a good-paying job. We need to create real opportunities for our kids so they don’t have to leave the state to find their future. And our commitment to Mainers can’t end just because their careers have–we need to take care of our seniors, and help them secure the retirement they’ve earned through a lifetime of hard work.”
Age: 53
Hometown: Newport
Profession: Maine State Representative
Previous elected office: Maine House of Representatives 2012 – present
Party affiliation: Republican
Age: 59
Hometown: Buckfield
Profession: Maine State Treasurer
Previous elected office: Maine House of Representatives, 2006-2014; MSAD 39 School Committee member, 1991-2004
Party affiliation: Independent
Talking points: “The rules governing our democracy have been written by the powerful to maintain their privilege at the expense of Maine people. As Governor, I will lead with integrity and respect, giving Maine citizens more voice and more choice in our democracy, making government more transparent and accountable to the people, and inviting and encouraging partnership, not partisanship.”
Age: 46
Hometown: Lewiston
Profession: Social worker
Previous elected office: None
Party affiliation: Libertarian
Talking points: “We have been slowly taken over by a rotting infestation of cronies, puppet masters, propagandists, and dictators. As our nations becomes more centralized, Maine can stand in opposition. We have an opportunity to demonstrate what America has lost. Maine has strong educators, doctors, nurses, social workers, counselors, laborers of all types, and most respectably, we have strong work and moral ethics. Our State has diversity and a will to surpass obstacles and be reveled across the nation and world. We need the will to see an opportunity through the despair.”
Age: 67
Hometown: Waldo
Profession: Retired, formerly worked at the Family Crisis Center in Portland and for the Volunteer Lawyers Project
Previous elected office: None
Party affiliation: Green Party
Talking points: Access to health care via a Medicare expansion and expanded community-based clinics. Supports 55 percent state funding for public schools but supports charter school models and community collaboration as well. Wants incentives for the “…value-added economy, helping rural communities and small businesses capitalize on Maine’s abundant natural resources without delving into the extractive resource economy.”
Age: 32
Hometown: Lewiston
Profession: State Senator
Previous elected office: State Senator from Maine’s 22nd District
Party affiliation: Republican
Age: 52
Hometown: South China
Profession: Former Commissioner Department of Health and Human Services
Previous elected office: None
Party affiliation: Republican
Talking points: “There are so many hard-working people in this state who get up every day, go to work, are proud of what they are doing. They are contributing to their families, their communities and to this state, and I am determined to continue to help supporting them by getting government out of the way and allowing these hard-working Mainers to keep more of their hard-earned money in their pocket.”
Age: 69
Hometown: Farmington
Profession: Maine Attorney General
Previous elected office: District Attorney for Androscoggin, Franklin and Oxford counties, 1980-1992; Maine House of Representatives, 2002-2008. Attorney General, 2008-2011; 2013-present
Party affiliation: Democrat
Talking points: “I’m not campaigning against anybody else in particular. I’m campaigning for the job on the basis of my own record and experience and on the basis of what people tell me across the state of what they want to see. They want to see a government that responds more proactively, that responds more effectively to the needs of children who can’t learn in school because they have missed too many meals, of seniors who want to stay in their homes but can’t afford the heat, of veterans coming back from battlefields and they can’t find comfort here. They want positive energy. They don’t want a governor who disparages the state.”
Age: 41
Hometown: Portland
Profession: Public relations, political consulting
Previous elected office: Maine House of Representatives, 2008-2016
Party affiliation: Democrat
Talking points: “Throughout my life I have been on the side of restoring power to everyday folks like my neighbors and my family. Over the years, I’ve learned that we can’t change the system by being complicit. We change it by standing up and fighting back. As Governor, I’ll spend every day fighting to unrig the system and make Maine a place where everyone gets a fair shot.”
Age: 60
Hometown: Hallowell
Profession: Lobbyist
Previous elected office: None
Party affiliation: Democrat
Talking points: “If we want to change things for the better, we must get big money out of politics. From there, we create a government on Maine values: build on people’s strengths, enlist the support of family, friends and neighbors, keep our aim high, and work hard together. These are the values Mainers share. It’s the life I’ve lived. I want to bring these values back to Maine government.”
Age: ?
Hometown: Mariaville
Profession: ?
Previous elected office: ?
Party affiliation: Democrat
Talking points: (Candidate did not respond to requests for information)