Republican gubernatorial nominee Bobby Charles is challenging his Democratic opponents to publicly reject campaign contributions from Augusta lobbyists, Central Maine Power, and AI data center companies, setting the stage for what he says is a defining issue in Maine’s race for governor.
Charles announced Thursday that he will hold a press conference Friday morning at the Maine State Capitol, where he plans to issue a direct public challenge to Democratic candidates Hannah Pingree and Rick Bennett.
According to the campaign, Charles is asking both candidates to pledge they will refuse campaign money from Augusta lobbyists, CMP, and AI data center companies.
“I’m calling on Hannah Pingree and Rick Bennett to join me in a pledge not to take money from Augusta lobbyists, CMP, and AI data center companies,” Charles said in a statement. “Ask them if they will. Their answer will tell Mainers everything they need to know about who they actually work for.”
Charles framed the challenge as a test of independence from Augusta’s political establishment, arguing that Pingree and Bennett represent decades of insider politics.
The campaign said the two candidates have accumulated more than four decades in Augusta and argued that they share responsibility for policies Charles described as examples of “extreme left-wing governance.”
Among the issues cited by Charles were calls to defund law enforcement, harm reduction policies involving needle distribution, bail practices that allow defendants to return to the community after arrest, rural hospital and maternity ward closures, declining student reading scores, rising energy costs, and Maine’s overall tax burden and business climate.
“You want to talk about extremes?” Charles said. “Defunding the police is extreme. Handing out needles that end up in our kids’ playgrounds is extreme. Letting nine maternity wards close while women in rural Maine drive four hours to give birth — that is extreme. The only thing that is not extreme is common sense. And common sense is not extreme.”
Charles, a Navy veteran and former federal investigator who grew up in Wayne, said his campaign is focused on ending what he characterizes as an era of insider politics in Augusta.
“Bennett and Pingree are not here to fix Augusta — they are Augusta,” Charles said. “They spent decades climbing that ladder. They owe people favors. The lobbyists, the utility companies, the special interests — those are their people. That is who has been calling the shots, and that is why nothing ever changes for working Mainers.”
The campaign said Charles’ platform centers on lowering energy prices and taxes, improving public safety, strengthening reading proficiency in schools, keeping hospitals open, protecting seniors from being taxed out of longtime homes, and making Maine more affordable for younger residents.
“Common sense is not extreme,” Charles said. “Cutting crime is not extreme. Cutting taxes is not extreme. Holding Augusta accountable is not extreme. What is extreme is four decades of the same insiders producing the same failures and asking for four more years. That ends in November.”
Charles is scheduled to hold his press conference at 10 a.m. Friday at the Welcome Center inside the Maine State Capitol in Augusta. The event is expected to focus on his challenge to Pingree and Bennett and whether either candidate agrees to the proposed pledge.
