Maine

Democrats control the governor’s office and both chambers of the Legislature. Governor Janet Mills is term-limited. The June 9 primary will narrow five Democratic and eight Republican candidates to two nominees for the November general election.

Mills signed a $519 million supplemental budget that made free community college permanent and sent $300 checks to 514,000 residents. Not a single Republican voted for it. The next governor will decide whether those policies survive.

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Five Democrats, eight Republicans, and no clear front-runner

Mills cannot run again. The June 9 primary uses ranked-choice voting. The November general election does not. The Maine Supreme Court ruled in April 2026 that expanding RCV to gubernatorial races is unconstitutional under the state’s plurality-wins language.

That split matters. Primary voters will rank candidates. General election voters will pick one. A crowded primary rewards name recognition and coalition-building. A plurality general election rewards turnout.

Candidate	Party	Background	Polling
Nirav Shah	D	Former Maine CDC director	29%
Angus King III	D	Renewable energy, senator’s son	24%
Shenna Bellows	D	Secretary of State	Running
Troy Jackson	D	Former Senate President	Running
Hannah Pingree	D	Former House Speaker	Running
Robert Charles	R	Attorney, won GOP straw poll	Leading R field
Jonathan S. Bush	R	Bush family nephew	Running

Every candidate will inherit the millionaire surtax, free community college, and asylum seeker budget pressures. Ask them which policies they will keep and which they will cut.

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A $519 million budget with no Republican votes

Mills signed the supplemental budget on April 10, 2026. It adds to an $11.65 billion two-year spending plan.

514,000 Mainers receiving $300 affordability checks for gas and grocery costs

Eligibility for the checks: individuals under $50,000, heads of household under $75,000, married couples under $100,000. The budget also made permanent the free community college program that has enrolled more than 23,000 high school graduates since 2022.

The money comes partly from a new 2% surcharge on roughly 2,400 households earning over $1 million. That creates a 9.15% top tax rate and is projected to generate $150 million over two years.

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Asylum seekers need healthcare and Portland needs help

LD 199 would remove MaineCare exclusions for immigrants and asylum seekers. Right now, only those under 21 or in a medical emergency can access coverage. Dozens of affected people testified before the Health and Human Services Committee.

Portland approved a $285.6 million general fund budget with a 7.4% tax increase and $8.8 million pulled from its rainy day fund. General Assistance costs for asylum seekers are a major driver.

Mills allowed a bill limiting police cooperation with ICE to become law without signing it. She did not block it, but she did not put her name on it either. The next governor will decide how far Maine goes on immigration enforcement.

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The lobster catch is down 30% and the ocean is warming

Maine’s lobster haul dropped to 78.8 million pounds in 2025, down from more than 110 million pounds in 2021. Four straight years of decline. Warming waters in the Gulf of Maine are pushing lobsters into Canadian territory. Researchers are studying how ocean acidification affects egg-bearing lobsters and embryo development.

Environmental groups released “Meeting the Moment,” a policy roadmap covering clean energy, Wabanaki sovereignty, and land protection. The Wabanaki sovereignty fight is not separate from the environmental fight. The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development found restoring full sovereignty would add $330 million per year to Maine’s GDP and $39 million in state and local tax revenue.

Mills blocked both the data center moratorium and Wabanaki sovereignty. The next governor gets to decide differently.

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Paul LePage wants back in

Former two-term Governor LePage is running for Congress in Maine’s 2nd District. He is unopposed in the Republican primary.

Vice President JD Vance campaigned with LePage in Bangor in May 2026. A LePage spokesperson framed the visit around “welfare fraud and misuse” and “government benefits fraud which now seems to be running rampant in our state.”

LePage repeatedly vetoed Medicaid expansion as governor. Mills implemented it after taking office. If LePage wins the 2nd District seat, he carries that record to Washington at the same time Congress debates Medicaid cuts.

Four Democrats are competing in the ME-02 primary: Joe Baldacci, Matthew Dunlap, Paige Loud, and Jordan Wood. The June 9 primary will determine who faces LePage in November.

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Protect yourself right now

1. Check your voter registration before June 9. The gubernatorial primary and ME-02 congressional primary are the same day. Verify your status at maine.gov/sos/cec/elec.

2. Understand ranked-choice voting for the primary. You can rank candidates in order of preference. If no one wins a majority of first-choice votes, the lowest candidate is eliminated and those ballots transfer to voters’ next choices. Rank every candidate you find acceptable.

3. Check your eligibility for the $300 affordability check. If you earn under $50,000 as an individual, under $75,000 as head of household, or under $100,000 filing jointly, you qualify.

4. Call the governor’s office at 207-287-3531. Ask about Wabanaki sovereignty, MaineCare expansion for asylum seekers, or data center policy. Mills is still in office through January 2027.

5. Show up at candidate forums. Five Democrats and eight Republicans are running for governor. Ask them what happens to free community college, the millionaire surtax, and MaineCare if they win.