LEWISTON, Maine – Republican candidate for governor Ben Midgley held a press conference Wednesday at Val’s Drive-In in Lewiston, where he pushed back against criticism from Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dr. Nirav Shah and outlined his vision for rebuilding Maine’s economy.
Speaking before supporters and members of the media, Midgley accused Shah of dismissing his economic proposals without understanding them, saying the former Maine CDC director had referred to his plans as “fantasy math” despite never hearing the details.
“I am the detailed guy,” Midgley said, contrasting his own economic platform with what he described as “chapter fluff plans” reliant on more taxpayer spending.
Midgley said he has spent the last 10 months traveling across Maine, putting more than 68,000 miles on his truck while meeting with people in more than 50 industries and discussing issues affecting the state.
“I listened to the struggles of people all over the state,” he said. “I have had people break down in tears in my arms on numerous occasions.”
Throughout the press conference, Midgley repeatedly contrasted his background in the private sector with Shah’s career in government and public health administration.
“I spent mine building businesses and creating jobs,” Midgley said. “He has never met a payroll, he’s never built a company, and he has never created a job.”
Midgley detailed his personal history, saying he had once relied on unemployment benefits and food stamps before building a company “from the ground up” into an operation spanning 500 locations in 46 states and six countries, generating more than $1 billion in revenue and creating over 15,000 jobs.
The speech focused heavily on the economy, government spending, and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Midgley sharply criticized Gov. Janet Mills and Shah for their handling of the pandemic, arguing that shutdown policies damaged Maine businesses, schools, and industries while expanding the size and cost of government.
“While families and business owners struggled to survive, the government grew, spending exploded, and Augusta became even more disconnected from the people that it serves,” he said.
Midgley pointed to Maine’s state budget growth under the Mills administration, noting that it took Maine roughly 200 years to reach a $7 billion state budget before growing to approximately $12 billion in just seven years.
“That is $5 billion more of taxpayer money taken from hardworking Maine families,” he said.
He also cited state economic forecasts showing little or no projected job growth through 2029, blaming what he called failed policy decisions from Augusta Democrats.
“You can’t do that bad if you are trying to do that bad,” Midgley said.
Energy costs, healthcare challenges, welfare dependency, drug overdoses, homelessness, and workforce shortages were all highlighted as symptoms of broader economic decline.
Midgley argued that state energy mandates and subsidy programs have driven electricity prices higher for families and businesses, while regulatory burdens and delayed reimbursements have contributed to financial strain on hospitals, particularly in rural Maine.
He also criticized the scale of Maine’s welfare system, claiming more than 400,000 people receive state benefits while approximately 750,000 residents pay taxes.
“These folks on the welfare system have no way off the system because that’s how the Democrats set it up,” he said.
The speech turned personal at times as Midgley referenced losing a nephew to a drug overdose and condemned Maine’s continuing struggles with addiction and overdose deaths.
“Being in the top 10 for drug overdoses and drug deaths still, after all this time, is shameful,” he said.
Midgley framed the race as a choice between what he called the “status quo” of Augusta Democrats and a private-sector approach focused on cutting spending, lowering taxes, reducing fraud, and creating jobs.
“Maine does not need another lawyer, lobbyist, or government bureaucrat,” he said. “We need a CEO.”
Closing the press conference, Midgley said Maine residents should not accept rising costs, economic stagnation, and social problems as inevitable.
“We can have affordable energy, we can have safer communities, we can have lower taxes,” he said. “We can stop these drug deaths, we can stop the fraud, we can fix homelessness, we can address our mental health needs, and we can grow this economy.”
“That’s not fantasy,” he added. “That’s leadership.”
Perhaps the Maine Wire could do an article on Shah’s time in the running of a large VA hospital in Illinois where he misdiagnosed an epidemic of Legionaire’s disease that severely sicken something like 75 Vets and killed 15 of them. I have read that he ran away from that disaster as fast and far as he could….and ended up being hired by the democrats here in Maine. As a ‘Nam era U S Navy vet, I do not want this man in charge of anything in my State of Maine.
Shah is a carpetbbagger, with a whole lot of blood on his hands.