Politics
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A website that targeted former fitness executive Ben Midgley has raised questions and sparked talk of potential ethics complaints as Republicans jockey for an edge in their fight to replace outgoing Gov. Janet Mills.
Midgley’s team believes midgleyexposed.com has Bobby Charles’ fingerprints on it, likening it to a site that attacked former Maine Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason using false information before the Charles campaign took it down in March. But Charles’ camp denies that, emphasizing that the former federal official hasn’t been shy about bashing rivals publicly.
The dustup marks the latest round of bitter infighting among Republicans seeking the Blaine House. Charles has aggressively gone after rivals who have more money and ads on the air in recent weeks following increased criticism from several opponents, both online and in TV debates he skipped.
Under state law, campaigns “must clearly and conspicuously” disclose when they authorize any communication that advocates for or against a specific candidate. Websites tied to campaigns or political action committees must make clear who financed them, as Charles’ campaign did with the anti-Mason site. The Midgley campaign teased a possible ethics complaint.
“It’s difficult to be the chief executive and law enforcer if you’re a law breaker on ethics rules,” Brent Littlefield, a Republican strategist on Midgley’s team, said in a Friday comment pointed at Charles.
But Charles’ campaign gestures to a site registered last August featuring a similar name, bobbycharlesexposed.com and disclaimer identical to one on the site going after Midgley: “Independent political commentary not paid for or authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.”
Registered through GoDaddy, midgleyexposed.com was up from late March until at least April 30. On the same day it was registered — March 26 — the Charles campaign paid strategist Vincent Harris $50, financial reports show. That’s the same amount the campaign has previously paid GoDaddy, where the site attacking Mason was also registered.
Harris said he could not recall the site, though he added, “It looks like it contains very important information conservatives of Maine need to know before they vote!”
Charles has often used social media and artificial intelligence-generated content to mock Midgley, Mason and entrepreneur Jonathan Bush as the “Three Amigos” and “never-Trumpers” seeking to upend his grassroots-driven bid that’s led early primary polls.
Echoing several of Charles’ public critiques, the site highlights Midgley’s 25-plus years as a Democrat and accuses him of trying to rebrand from a “woke” CEO to a Republican. It claims that Crunch Fitness locations “under Midgley’s leadership” offered pole dancing classes and says he only became a Republican for a “power grab.”
Midgley this week posted a video shrugging off the attacks as unserious. He has acknowledged being a former Democrat and said a party leader should strive for a big tent, noting that former Gov. Paul LePage and presidents Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan had history as Democrats.
“There is not a woke bone in this body,” Midgley said. “They are confusing the company I ran as CEO with the actions of another company.”
Real estate executive David Jones, a frequent Charles critic, shared bobbycharlesexposed.com on Facebook in March while noting it wasn’t tied to his campaign. Jones and Midgley recently formed a ranked-choice alliance, encouraging voters to pick each other second in the June 9 primary.
Jones’ campaign said Friday it hasn’t created “any website against any other candidates.” A Democratic source said Friday that the party wasn’t behind any of the sites targeting Republicans. A site that went live in April spotlighting the Republican background of independent state Sen. Rick Bennett made clear it was paid for by the state party.
And a spokesman for Maine Dream Inc., a political group supporting Bush, said the group had “nothing to do with these sites or their creation.”