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AUGUSTA, Maine — A political group funded by a Maine philanthropist who was killed last month is spending money on ads helping Republican gubernatorial frontrunner Bobby Charles.
An organization called Reclaim Maine registered this week in Maine, a week after it began spending a small amount of money on ads on Facebook and Instagram. But the group reported fundraising last year to the Federal Election Commission — an unnecessary step for a committee looking to operate in Maine — and reserved its web address last April.
Any outside help will be welcome news for Charles, who has led in polls of the race but is sitting toward the middle of the overall gubernatorial field in money raised. Former lawmaker Garrett Mason has gotten $1.7 million in outside money from a group tied to Republican megadonors, while entrepreneur Jonathan Bush is spending heavily on ads as well.
Reclaim Maine only reported two contributors last year. It got $50,000 from longtime Augusta-area philanthropist Robert Fuller Jr., who was shot to death in a Maryland nursing home last month. Police there arrested a worker at the facility and charged him with murder.
The other donor was Stephen Ritzi, a Florida businessman and Maine native who went to high school with Charles and said in an interview that someone contacted him last year to donate to an effort to help his old friend get elected, something he was happy to do. He gave $20,000.
Charles, Mason, Bush and two other candidates in the gubernatorial field have political committees set up to help them in the primary/ It allows supporters of the candidates to donate unlimited money to help them, while donations to campaigns themselves are capped. The campaigns are barred from coordinating with outside groups.
Representatives of Reclaim Maine did not respond to a request for comment. Vincent Harris, Charles’ strategist, did not respond to a question about whether he knew who made the pro-Charles ads. The group has not spent money on TV, according to AdImpact data.
One of the ads elevates Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate, by saying she is Gov. Janet Mills’ “hand-picked successor.” Mills has formally endorsed nobody but campaigned alongside former House Speaker Hannah Pingree, who served for most of the governor’s tenure as the head of her policy office.
“Vote Bobby Charles for governor to cut costs and reclaim Maine,” the ad closes.