Former fitness executive Ben Midgley announced his gubernatorial run in Kennebunkport on Tuesday, pledging to commit 100 percent of his efforts going forward to helping the Maine people rather than the “political class.”
Midgley touted his lack of a political past as a strength, and claimed that his experience as a successful businessman, first as president of the national gym chain Planet Fitness then as CEO and founder of Crunch Franchising, would allow him to help Maine succeed.
“The last seven years have shown us we do not need more politicians, we need someone whose lived it built it, and knows how to fix it. I’m running for governor because I love Maine like you love Maine,” said Midgley.
“It’s time for something different now, something that can’t be bought or coached or programmed. This campaign is not about me, never going to be about me. It’s about us. It’s about every Maine family just trying to get ahead, every small business struggling to survive, every Maine parent who just wants their kids to grow up in the same Maine that we did, which was wonderful,” he added.
Midgley discussed his personal journey, going from struggling to get by on food stamps to becoming a successful businessman and creating 15,000 jobs through his fitness franchises.
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He promised that, as governor, he would use his experience in business to address some of the most pressing issues for Mainers, such as skyrocketing electricity and housing costs, a lack of parental influence in the education system, growing crime rates driven by illegal immigrants, and illegal Chinese-operated marijuana grow sites.
He also vowed to defend Mainers’ Second Amendment rights and get biological men out of women’a sports.
Midgley spoke to The Maine Wire on the margins of the event about how he specifically plans to deal with increased crime rates and illegal Chinese marijuana farms.
“For me, this is not a problem Maine should have, It’s going to get wrapped up pretty quickly. You’re just going to get law enforcement the support they need and partner with federal authorities and do whatever it takes to make sure that that practice ends, so I imagine it would be wrapped up pretty darn quick,” said Midgley.
He told The Maine Wire that the state needs to review the law enforcement regulations, making it more difficult for authorities to arrest and punish criminals.
“You’ve got to go through all the regulations that have been put in place to make their jobs harder, you’ve got to improve morale, you’ve got to improve hiring,” said Midgley.
“You’ve got some challenges with judges that aren’t enforcing laws. We’ve got to do our best to work through that. There’s certain processes that you have to do, that’s not quite as easy as just supporting law enforcement,” he added.
He also explained his stance on illegal immigration.
“We just can’t have folks in Maine that are working this hard, and have one of the lowest average incomes supporting all these benefits, right? … You have to take this burden off of Maine taxpayers, but if you’re breaking the law, and you’re not here to do then you need to, you need to be taken away,” said Midgley.
Midgley’s campaign manager, Lauren LePage, provided additional details on his immigration stance.
“Ben knows illegal is illegal and he supports deporting violent criminals, just like the Trump Administration has prioritized, and those who should be deported under the law. Ben also believes welfare benefits should be for citizens who truly need a hand up, not for foreign nationals. If people are going to be living in the state or country, we should support policies to ensure they are working, not receiving welfare benefits paid by hardworking Maine taxpayers,” said LePage in a statement to The Maine Wire.
State Sen. Matt Harrington (R-York) offered his support for Midgley when he introduced the gubernatorial candidate.
“Ben Midgley is someone who shows up. Ben is someone who sticks with the job even when it gets hard. Ben sees things through to the end. I’ve seen it firsthand,” Sen. Harrington said.
Shortly before Midgley’s announcement, another Republican gubernatorial candidate, Bobby Charles, released a scathing statement critical of his primary opponent.
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“Frankly, I was surprised that he’s not running as a Democrat. Given his past record, it would have seemed a more natural fit. I’m also relieved I never signed up for one of his gyms over the last few years. From what I’ve heard, the gyms he ran embraced the Left’s agenda,” said Charles.
