A Republican candidate for governor is pushing back after the Maine Democratic State Committee accused him of racism in response to his recent criticism of alleged fraud within MaineCare and other state programs.
In a lengthy video on social media, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bobby Charles said Democrats are attempting to discredit him for calling attention to what he described as millions of dollars in taxpayer losses tied to improper billing, uncompleted contracts, and a lack of accountability across multiple state systems. He said his focus includes alleged fraud within MaineCare, in the state Legislature, and in publicly reported cases involving nonprofits.
Charles noted that some of those allegations involve organizations connected to members of Maine’s Somali community but rejected the Democratic Party’s characterization that his concerns were racially motivated.
According to his statement, Democrats are “calling me racist because one of, if not more than one of the nonprofits that are accused of taking money and overbilling … also involves a Somali community.”
He also referenced public safety issues in Lewiston, saying the city has faced significant challenges related to shootings and overdoses. He argued those issues are tied to assimilation and accountability, not race.
The candidate said Democrats accused him of wanting to “burn down communities,” a claim he denied, saying it “certainly doesn’t come out of my mouth.”
He added that he supports individuals “who follow the laws” and said that as governor he would bring both compassion and strict oversight to state government. He pledged to end what he described as “thousands of single-source, sole-source, uncompleted contracts” benefiting politically connected individuals and vowed to “open the books.”
Emphasizing his work in minority communities, he pointed to past involvement in treatment programs, international outreach, and youth development initiatives, as well as an endorsement from a Black law enforcement association. He said he is committed to delivering “accountability, fairness, and opportunity to every community in the state.”
“I don’t care if you’re a Democrat or a Republican,” he said, urging supporters to join his campaign. “What I care about is that you follow the law, you’re not involved in fraud, [and] you do want to make the American dream work for you.”
Meanwhile, an intramural dispute among Republican gubernatorial candidates has been brewing online, as Lauren LePage, the campaign strategist for Ben Midgely, posted on Thursday that Bobby Charles’ campaign plagiarized the words of her client in a recent advertisement.
Those words, “Minnesota’s Massive Somali Fraud Scandal is a Warning to Every State, Including Maine,” do come from the headline of an opinion piece Midgley wrote and The Maine Wire published last week.
While Charles’ team appears to have appropriated Midgley’s headline to illustrate a point, it is also true that he has been the candidate calling out Somali-American politicians for mixed loyalties for a number of months, drawing heavy criticism not only from Democrats but from newspapers such as The Portland Press Herald and Amjambo Africa.
Charles’ focus now on corruption among Somali-American politicians in Maine now seems to be gathering broader attention within the Republican field.
