Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Former Maine state House Speaker Hannah Pingree, a Democrat, and MAGA conservative Bobby Charles will face off in what\u2019s expected to be a competitive general election for Maine governor.<\/p>\n
Both emerged from the state\u2019s ranked choice voting process early Friday morning, with Pingree \u2014 the daughter of Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) \u2014 leapfrogging front-runner and former public health official Nirav Shah in the Democratic runoff.<\/p>\n
An independent candidate, Rick Bennett, has also qualified to be on the ballot in the race to succeed current Gov. Janet Mills. Bennett, a state senator and the former Maine GOP chair, left the party last summer<\/a> ahead of launching his gubernatorial run. The general election will not use ranked choice voting.<\/p>\n Republicans are hoping they can take back the Blaine House after eight years of Mills in power, arguing that voters\u2019 frustrations over energy prices and property taxes will power Charles to victory.<\/p>\n Charles, who was the clear front-runner in the GOP primary, worked in the State Department during George W. Bush\u2019s administration before founding a Washington-based consulting firm. He ran a prolific social media campaign, frequently lobbing barbs at Democratic contenders via cartoons and artificial intelligence-generated images. He prevailed in a seven-person Republican field despite vastly more money being spent on behalf of a few other candidates.<\/p>\n His campaign promises included eliminating Maine\u2019s income tax and cutting the state\u2019s roughly $7 billion budget by $4 billion.<\/p>\n Pingree served in the state House more than a decade ago, rising to House speaker from 2008 to 2010. She joined Mills\u2019 administration as the director of the Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, making her one of the Democratic governor\u2019s most trusted advisers.<\/p>\n Pingree was endorsed by Mills in the gubernatorial race and was the third-choice pick of Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner. Her ascendancy would reflect the most continuity of Mills\u2019 tenure, although Pingree indicated that she would differ from the governor\u2019s path on certain decisions related to labor and tribal sovereignty \u2014 two issues where Mills has clashed with progressives.<\/p>\n