WATERVILLE, Maine — Nearly all of the candidates seeking to become Maine’s next governor rubbed shoulders in a Waterville hotel on Thursday morning in one of the first major events of the nascent 2026 campaign.
Rather than causing sparks in a polarizing political environment currently marked by a federal government shutdown, the opportunity to hear from 16 contenders — from the biggest names to unknowns — produced a cordial atmosphere of stump speeches and moments of agreement.
There was plenty of handshaking and backslapping in a Best Western Plus conference room. Angus King III, a Democrat, sat near former fitness executive Ben Midgley, a Republican. Two Republicans who have been criticizing each other, Bobby Charles and David Jones, chatted on the sidelines. Charles nodded along with remarks from former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash.
The Mid-Coast Chamber of Commerce’s meet-and-greet for local business leaders was only a prelude to what will become a more aggressive and “chippy” 2026 race, one of the candidates confided to a reporter Thursday. The field seeking to replace Gov. Janet Mills is also set to grow as a few more Republicans are exploring runs.
There was little interplay between the candidates on the official program. They had about five minutes to speak to the room about themselves and their campaigns. It was more a display of areas of consensus and speaking styles mixed in with moments of levity.
Candidates from former Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree, a North Haven Democrat, to entrepreneur Owen McCarthy, a Gorham Republican, touched on education, their children and how Maine needs to better hold onto its younger residents. Concerns over property taxes and energy prices also came up from those across the ideological spectrum.
State Sen. Rick Bennett of Oxford, who was a Republican before leaving the party to run for governor as an independent, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Manchester Democrat, and Sen. Jim Libby, a R-Standish, each focused on their bipartisan legislative achievements.
It was clear Thursday would not get heated, though chamber officials talking among themselves after the event mentioned how Bellows was verbally accosted by unidentified people outside the hotel amid the secretary of state facing Republican criticism over ballot security and her refusal to give voter information to President Donald Trump’s Justice Department.
Cheering and jeering were not part of the breakfast, with Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce CEO Kim Lindlof telling audience members she would not tolerate any negativity from the crowd. A few instances of laughter were instead the more memorable moments.
Little-known independent Alex Murchison, an engineer from Dover-Foxcroft, drew plenty of chuckles for asking Lindlof about the event’s “swearing policy” and for saying he did not really prepare a speech after he was mistakenly left out of the packet of candidate biographies.
One Democrat also took a shot at Mills without naming her. That was Jackson, who noted he had sponsored many bills over the years dealing with pharmaceuticals and other issues that were vetoed by Mills and former Republican Gov. Paul LePage.
Then came the line that drew laughter and light applause from throughout the room.
“So it’s nothing really fun to have a Democratic governor when you’re a Democrat either,” Jackson said, “because they screw you just as well as the Republicans.”