AUBURN, Maine — Republican gubernatorial candidate Ben Midgley used his remarks at the Auburn Lincoln Day dinner to cast himself as an outsider to politics and a business executive prepared to lead Maine out of what he described as years of decline under Democratic control.
Midgley told the audience he is not a career politician, but someone running for governor to bring what he called strong, common-sense leadership to Augusta. He framed his campaign around his personal story, his business background, and his belief that Maine needs an experienced executive rather than another traditional political figure.
Midgley said his path was not a conventional one. He told attendees he never graduated from college, explaining that after about two years he could no longer afford to continue and instead went to work to support himself. One of those early jobs, he said, involved cleaning machines at a gym in exchange for a membership, which helped launch his career in the fitness industry.
He also spoke candidly about a difficult period in his life, saying he spent time on unemployment and food stamps before working his way forward. Midgley said the experience was humbling and taught him that hard work was the only path out.
That path, he said, eventually led him to a leadership role at Planet Fitness before he left to help launch Crunch Fitness as chief executive officer and founding partner. Midgley said he spent 15 years building the company into what he described as the top fitness franchise in the country, with 500 locations across three countries, more than $1 billion in revenue, and 15,000 jobs created nationwide.
Midgley argued that his career has been defined by building companies, creating jobs, and helping organizations grow, and said those are the same skills Maine now needs in the Blaine House.
He sharply criticized the direction of the state over the last seven years, saying Democrats have made one bad decision after another and that Maine needs a reset. He said his campaign is focused on roughly 25 major issues facing the state, with an emphasis on fixing the economy, reducing spending, lowering the cost of living, and restoring support for business and law enforcement.
Among the areas he highlighted were electricity costs, housing, insurance, government spending, immigration-related benefits, procurement reform, and tax policy. He also said Maine must do more to support legacy industries, including farming, fishing, and agriculture, arguing that those sectors have been poorly treated and need stronger backing from state government.
Midgley also focused heavily on public safety and education. He said Maine should defend law enforcement rather than undermine it, and pointed to drug overdoses as a crisis affecting families across the state.
On education, Midgley said he has a child still in high school and argued that Maine students have been pushed away from academics and toward what he described as social-emotional learning. He called that shift a disaster and said parents now have to work harder to understand what their children are being taught. He also criticized the Department of Education and said the system needs to be brought back on track.
At the center of his pitch was a simple message: Maine needs a CEO. Midgley said the state is in a mess and needs a seasoned chief executive officer with experience getting results, lowering costs, and building opportunity.
Midgley also used part of his speech to reflect on Abraham Lincoln and the meaning of national unity. He recounted the historical shift from people saying “the United States are” to “the United States is,” arguing that the grammatical change reflected a deeper constitutional and cultural transformation brought about by the Civil War and Lincoln’s leadership.
Quoting from Lincoln’s final public speech on April 11, 1865, Midgley said Lincoln understood the complexity of bringing the country back together after a period of deep division. He said there are similarities to the present moment, arguing that both the country and Maine are fractured and that Republicans have a responsibility not just to win elections, but to help bring people back together.
Midgley closed with an argument about the political math facing Republicans in Maine. He noted that Republicans are outnumbered by roughly 40,000 registered Democrats and said the only path to victory is to win over independents and unenrolled voters. He told the audience those voters are feeling the same frustrations and said Republicans must rally behind the candidate best able to bring them to the GOP side.
He ended on a more personal note, reflecting on his childhood move to Maine in fourth grade and the sense of belonging he found growing up here. Midgley said one of the values he learned early was that people should stand up for one another and make clear to others, especially children, that they are seen and valued.
For Midgley, the speech was both a campaign pitch and a broader appeal to restore what he sees as a more united and grounded Maine.
