MEMO: State of the Maine Gubernatorial Race

To: Interested Parties

From: Chris Sloan, DGA Political Director

Subject: State of the Maine Gubernatorial Race

Date: August 27, 2026

Introduction: Hannah Pingree Has the Momentum in this Race

Two months into the general election - and after an eventful summer in Maine politics - we feel confident that Hannah Pingree is in a strong position to win the Maine governor's race. After successfully navigating a complicated and large primary, she has consolidated Democratic support, posted impressive fundraising totals, and traveled the state talking to voters about her vision to make Maine more affordable.

While the Senate race has dominated much of the headlines and paid media spending, the governor's race has remained steady since June. The campaign of Bobby Charles began the general election marred by missteps, poor fundraising, and weak polling - while Hannah Pingree is the clear frontrunner in the race. But Maine is an independent-minded state where nothing can be taken for granted. The dynamics of the Senate race, and Hannah Pingree's ability to continue to reach across partisan lines and build a strong coalition, will be important as we head into the fall.

Hannah Pingree: A New Generation of Leadership in Maine

Hannah Pingree has the clear momentum in this race. In the past few months, her campaign has earned highly coveted endorsements - including from Maine Conservation Voters Action Fund, the Maine AFL-CIO, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England Action Fund, Maine Education Association, and MSEA/SEIU Local 1989. She has spent the general election traveling across the state talking about the issues Mainers care about: keeping rural hospitals open, lowering health care costs, and making it easier to afford to buy a home. She has consistently polled far ahead of Charles and quadrupled his fundraising and cash on hand.

Why does Hannah's campaign have such strong momentum? Because of who Hannah is. Born in Belfast, she is a true Mainer who grew up in a small town and is now raising her family there. Over the course of her campaign for governor, she has embodied the combination of generational change and vision that Maine voters want in their next governor. In the Democratic primary, she showed that she could build a powerful and broad coalition around being a pragmatic leader who will move Maine forward. That profile has served her well in the general election - where she has been running a positive campaign focused on her values, her story, and her commitment to taking on tough fights and winning.

Hannah is also the right leader for this moment when costs are far too high and Donald Trump is attacking Maine. She has a record of taking on special interests like chemical companies, Wall Street and Big Pharma to solve problems - exactly the type of leadership Mainers are looking for. In the general election, she has already shown that she will be fearless in standing up for Mainers - calling for a moratorium on labor and delivery hospital unit closures, a tax on out-of-staters to lower property taxes for Maine families, and speaking out against Trump's cost-raising Canadian tariffs. Hannah has a message and record that fits Maine and stands in stark contrast to the MAGA extremism of Bobby Charles.

Bobby Charles is a MAGA Extremist Who Is Struggling in the General Election

While Hannah Pingree has the momentum, the campaign of MAGA extremist Bobby Charles is struggling. Through a torrent of social media posts and AI-generated videos produced over the last eighteen months, Bobby Charles has made clear he is an anti-choice extremist who will be Donald Trump's man in the Blaine House. Emerging from a highly divisive Republican primary with a toxic message, Charles has only made things worse for himself in the past two months. His campaign has repeatedly stumbled in the general election, plagued by weak fundraising, poor polling, and self-inflicted errors. Over the course of the summer, he has refused to release his financial disclosure - becoming the only candidate in the race not to be transparent about his finances. It's an especially alarming move from a man who spent many years as a DC lobbyist. The Republican Governors Association is refusing to even comment on his candidacy. Charles is polling poorly, fundraising poorly - and his campaign seems to only be making things worse.

In Conclusion:

Hannah Pingree is running a positive campaign focused on her primary strengths with Mainers in this campaign: her uniquely Maine story, record of getting results, and priorities as governor. She grew up in Maine, is a mom of two kids, and has spent her career working to solve Maine's problems. Elected unanimously as the youngest Speaker of the Maine House, she took on drug companies to lower prescription costs, stood up to Wall Street landlords buying up mobile home parks, and led the effort to build tens of thousands of new homes. As governor, she'll keep taking on powerful interests to bring down costs - fighting for a public option so health care doesn't bankrupt families, cracking down on utility price gouging, and cutting property taxes for year-round Mainers - while defending Maine from Trump's attacks on health care, jobs, and freedoms.

After Hannah's strengths, the second most important factor in this race is the fact that Bobby Charles is too extreme for Maine. Charles is a career DC lobbyist who has vowed to work "side by side" with Trump and says America is "thriving" under him, even as Trump's policies, like tariffs, raise prices on food and gas and cut health care and hospitals here at home. And Charles calls himself unapologetically pro-life and would enact an abortion ban in Maine without exceptions for rape or incest.

The difference between the two candidates could not be more stark - and that is why Hannah has the momentum in this race. As Maine voters continue to consider the choice they face in November, they will send Hannah Pingree to Augusta as their next governor.