Independent gubernatorial candidate Rick Bennett is disavowing the support of a Republican-backed political action committee spending hundreds of thousands of dollars promoting him as the “progressive choice” for Maine governor, calling it a cynical attempt by wealthy out-of-state donors to manipulate the election.
Bennett, a former chair of the Maine Republican Party who broke with the GOP over President Donald Trump to run as an independent, has supported LGBTQ+ rights and other policies associated with Democrats but is hardly campaigning as a progressive.
Reached by phone Thursday evening, Bennett told the Midcoast Villager the supposed support for his campaign is a “cynical” and “offensive” attempt to siphon progressive votes from Democrat Hannah Pingree to benefit Republican Bobby Charles, who trails Pingree in the polls.
“This sort of intervention is unwanted. I would love to see it curtailed,” Bennett said. “These guys that are backing this PAC are out-of-state centimillionaires if not billionaires trying to manipulate Maine elections.”
Bennett said the effort illustrates the need to overhaul the campaign finance system. Noting more than $400 million is projected to be spent on political advertising in Maine this year, he said donors should instead give their money to charities to help people afford heating oil this winter.
“I call it the political-industrial class. There’s so much money flowing through that people are putting their kids through college by putting these mailers out. They don’t give a damn about the Maine people and the Maine elections,” Bennett said.
The group behind the advertising, No Nonsense PAC, officially registered itself with the Maine Ethics Commission as supporting Charles and opposing Pingree.
But it has also spent at least $169,000 promoting Bennett, the long-shot third candidate in the race, including sending at least three mailers to voters portraying the former Republican as the progressive alternative to both major-party candidates.
Polls show Pingree with a substantial lead over Charles, while Bennett has struggled to gain traction. A new CNN poll released Thursday showed Pingree at 53%, Charles at 39% and “other” at 4%, suggesting Bennett does not have much of a chance.
The apparent strategy behind the No Nonsense PAC effort is to persuade voters who might otherwise support Pingree to vote for Bennett instead, potentially improving Charles’ chances of winning. Unlike in Maine’s congressional elections, ranked-choice voting is not used in general elections for governor. That means the candidate with the most votes wins, even without a majority. Votes for Bennett cannot be transferred to Pingree or Charles if he finishes last.
The No Nonsense PAC mailers call Bennett “the progressive choice” and highlight his positions on issues that appeal to liberal voters, including support for LGBTQ+ rights and universal healthcare.
“Don’t settle for establishment politics. Vote your values,” one mailer readers. Another says Bennett “voted to protect gender-affirming care” and “championed LGBTQ non-discrimination protections.”
On the reverse, the mailers attack Pingree as corrupt and blame her for driving up taxes and prices on household goods.
But rather than an earnest effort to support the independent, the No Nonsense PAC’s own financial disclosures show it is funded and run by prominent Republicans. Its money comes overwhelmingly from major Republican donors, including some of the country’s wealthiest conservative political financiers.
The group has reported raising more than $1.2 million and spending more than $818,000 on independent expenditures in the governor’s race through Oct. 29. Its reported spending includes roughly $332,000 opposing Pingree, $169,000 supporting Bennett and $265,000 supporting Charles directly.
Among No Nonsense PAC’s contributors is Thomas Klingenstein, a New York investor and chair of the conservative Claremont Institute, who gave $100,000. Klingenstein has been a major financial supporter of Republican candidates in Maine and beyond, including putting $3 million this year behind an effort to boost Garrett Mason, who lost the Republican gubernatorial primary to Charles.
Other contributors include Roger Penske, the billionaire automotive and racing executive, who gave at least $200,000; David DeLorme, a Freeport businessman who contributed at least $200,000; and Contract Farming of Maine LLC, a company historically associated with egg producer Jack DeCoster. Steven Ritzi, a former high school classmate of Charles who has also contributed to his campaign, gave $20,000.
The PAC has also hired Republican political consultants to carry out its advertising campaign.
Its largest expenditures have gone to Red Maverick Media, whose co-founder Mike Leavitt previously served as executive director of the Maine Republican Party. On its website, the firm lists Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins among its clients. In September, the PAC also reported paying $20,000 to Percipient Strategies, a political research firm that says on its website it served as a lead research contractor for Make America Great Again Inc., a super PAC supporting Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.
Under campaign finance laws, independent expenditure groups like No Nonsense PAC can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money as long as they do not coordinate directly with campaigns or candidates.
The No Nonsense PAC and Charles campaign did not respond to requests for comment from the Midcoast Villager. But Charles’ campaign previously said in a statement to WGME: “No Nonsense PAC is an independent committee. The Bobby Charles campaign doesn’t control it, doesn’t coordinate with it and isn’t going to direct its spending from a podium either.”
Pingree’s campaign dismissed the impact of the spending, with spokesperson Mary-Erin Casale saying “late outside spending and misleading tactics” won’t change the candidate’s emphasis on working to win every vote.
But the Maine Democratic Party was not willing to give Bennett a pass.
At an Oct. 13 press conference in Portland, before the “progressive choice” mailer reached voters, Democratic officials accused the No Nonsense PAC of trying to undermine Pingree and called on Bennett to denounce its support.
“It’s awfully convenient that Rick Bennett has chosen to say something now, just five days before Election Day and after over $150,000 has already been spent on his behalf,” Maine Democrats spokesperson Lauryn Fanguen told the Villager. “He’s had weeks to speak up while the Maine Democratic Party repeatedly called him out and multiple news outlets asked him to respond. He chose silence.”
This story appears through a media partnership with Midcoast Villager.