AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Janet Mills widened her fundraising lead on former Gov. Paul LePage down the homestretch of their race, bringing in more than double his haul since mid-July.
The Democratic governor’s campaign said it raised $994,000 between July 20 and Sept. 20, bringing Mills’ campaign-long total to roughly $4.8 million so far in the race. LePage, a Republican, reported raising $442,000 during that period and just over $2.2 million overall.
The campaigns had significant resources to spend over the last seven weeks before Election Day, with Mills reporting just over $1.4 million left to LePage’s $1.3 million.
Independent Sam Hunkler, a Beals doctor, has self-funded his campaign to the tune of $4,200 and had only spent $547 in his longshot campaign.
It continues a theme for LePage, who has been outspent by chief rivals in each of his three races. When the former two-term governor beat back a challenge from then-U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud in 2014, the Democrat outspent him by a 3-to-2 ratio. Mills, who was elected to replace the term-limited LePage in 2018, has outraised him 2 to 1 so far.
Campaign finances are crucial, but outside money is influencing the race heavily with $5.6 million spent on it as of Tuesday morning. It has been dominated by a Maine group formed by the Democratic Governors Association, which has spent $3.1 million alone.
The Maine Republican Party has spent more than $1.9 million, operating effectively as an extension of the LePage campaign with money from the Republican Governors Association.
The LePage-Mills race was polling tightly in the spring, but the incumbent opened a wider lead in two public polls released last week, including one from Emerson College that showed her 12 percentage points ahead of LePage with Hunkler at 1 percent.