Democrat Hannah Pingree has a sizable financial edge over her two opponents as the race for governor enters the final six-week stretch.
Pingree’s campaign reported raising more than $1.2 million between July 15 and Sept. 15. That’s more than double the roughly $509,000 raised by Republican Bobby Charles and about nine times as much as independent Rick Bennett, who received $146,000 in contributions during that period.
Pingree, a former Maine House speaker and the daughter of Democratic U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine’s 1st District, also has significantly more money than her opponents headed into the final stretch of the campaign.
According to data filed with the Maine Ethics Commission, Hannah Pingree reported nearly $1.2 million in cash on hand as of mid-September, compared with $395,000 in Charles’ campaign coffers and $91,000 still in Bennett’s accounts. Pingree is also the first gubernatorial candidate to begin airing TV ads during the general election, although multiple Democratic and Republican candidates were on the airwaves before the June primaries.
“I’ve been traveling this state since Day One, and what I hear over and over is that people can’t afford housing, can’t afford health care, and they’re tired of waiting on Washington to fix it,” Pingree, who was a top adviser to Gov. Janet Mills before launching her campaign, said in a statement. “This is what a real campaign looks like: built town by town, county by county, by people ready for someone who’ll actually get things done. There’s still work ahead before November, and I’m not slowing down.”
Maine’s gubernatorial contest has been largely overshadowed since last year by the race for Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins’ seat. Collins, her Republican allies, and the campaign and supporters of Democrat Troy Jackson are expected to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on that race, which could decide which party controls the U.S. Senate.
But the outcome of the three-way race to succeed Mills in the Blaine House could arguably have a bigger impact on Mainers’ everyday lives.
Of course, fundraising success doesn’t guarantee a victory at the ballot box in Maine. Republican Paul LePage, for example, was heavily outspent in his two successful runs for governor. And Collins was outspent by her Democratic opponent in 2020, former Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon, before cruising to victory.
“Rick Bennett is out meeting and listening to Mainers — earning their support the right way, one handshake and one town at a time through his For A Better Maine walking tour,” Kaitlin LaCasse with the Bennett campaign said in a statement Wednesday. “Mainers know the difference between a campaign that buys momentum and one that earns it.”
Similarly, Charles disputed polls showing Pingree with a lead over both him and Bennett.
“I am fighting for everyday people every day,” Charles said during a recent interview at a campaign event in Monmouth. “And I will tell you right now … we continue to close the gap by points a week. She is shrinking away in terms of that lead that she thinks she has.”
Both Charles and Bennett have sought to cast Pingree as a Mills protege who will continue the status quo. Bennett is a longtime state lawmaker and business owner from western Maine who formerly served as chair of the Maine Republican Party but is now running as an independent. Charles is a former naval intelligence officer, federal investigator and assistant U.S. secretary of state.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.