Maine
Who is raising the most money in the Maine governor’s race?
(Joe Phelan/Staff Photographer)
Candidates vying to become Maine’s next governor have until midnight Tuesday to file campaign finance reports for the first quarter of the year.
The reports will show who is best positioned to control the message in the final month-plus until the primaries. But fundraising success doesn’t always guarantee a win at the ballot box.
The reports come as a growing number of leading candidates are taking to the airwaves a head of the June 9 primaries. Five Democrats and seven Republicans are vying to replace Gov. Janet Mills, who is term limited.
As of Tuesday, Republican Jonathan Bush topped all candidates in broadcast, cable and digital advertising, having booked nearly $1.5 million in ads through the primary, the political spending tracker AdImpact said.
But Republican Garrett Mason is benefitting from about $3 million in spending by Restoration of America PAC, which is running ads targeting Gov. Janet Mills and tying Mason to President Donald Trump.
Other Republican candidates running ads are Bobby Charles ($63,000), Owen McCarthy ($43,660) and Ben Midgely ($55,000.)
Hannah Pingree tops the Democratic slate with about $564,000 in ad spending, followed by Nirav Shah ($493,000), Shenna Bellows ($462,700) and Angus King III ($299,000.)
As of Tuesday afternoon, fundraising totals were only trickling in. Public access to those reports was hampered because the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics & Election Practices is building a new website, and glitches made some reports unviewable.
This story will be updated when more reports are filed. As of Tuesday afternoon:
- Republican Jonathan Bush reported raising about $845,000 in the first quarter, but 60% of that, $500,000, was a personal loan to his own campaign. His totals were not yet available through the new website, but his quarterly fundraising and spending was provided by ethics staff.
- Republican Robert Wessels was the only other active candidate that had filed. He raised nearly $11,600 for the quarter and has about $13,540 in cash.
This is a developing story.
“Do you ever think we could find some woods to walk in?” my outdoorsy 12-year-old asks me, every now and again. As a kid growing up in New York City, Anton appreciates all the skate parks and bagel shops, but he also really craves nature, like in his bones.
So, when school got out, I offered to take him for a weekend in Maine, a place with not only woods but also lakes and rocks and periwinkles that come out of their shells when you hum. We were both really excited.
The first night, we were lucky enough to snag a room at Aragosta, a beautiful small hotel in Deer Isle that Alison had recommended.
The chef-owner, Devin Finigan, is famous for her seasonal tasting menus, but we focused on the breakfast that came with the room, including these Maine blueberry pancakes. I don’t even usually like pancakes and these blew my mind.
We also played a LOT of chess on our little travel board.
After breakfast, we set out to hike up Blue Hill Mountain.
Here’s the summit!
In the afternoon, we explored the charming fishing village of Stonington…
…then joined my friend Julie (of Rudy Jude fame) and her family for dinner at the Burnt Cove Boil.
Basically, a crab gets plonked down in front of you, followed by a corn on the cob, then a lobster, then a classic ice-cream sandwich. Julie and her husband Anthony taught us how to get all the meat out. (Their kids were already pros.)
Afterward, the four boys scrambled around on the rocks, while the adults chatted. It’s always such a treat to hang out with people who live in the place you’re visiting, don’t you think? Julie and Anthony described how they brought their recently hatched chicks into their home to keep them warm, and all the peeping was sooooo loud — and then a cricket got into the house and added to the noise and no one could find it and everyone was going nuts, haha. Very different from city life!
The next day, Anton and I stayed at the lovely Asticou Hotel near Acadia National Park.
We drove to a couple trailheads but they were PACKED — you had to stand in a long line, just to start the hike! Luckily, we found a quieter area and took a long walk around Jordan Pond, playing Would You Rather and Categories along the way. Do you have any favorite travel games?
Finally, we skimmed stones on our last afternoon before heading back to Brooklyn.
Epic travel buddy
Oh, Maine, what a magical place! Not pictured, of course: traffic, grumpy preteen moments, locking our keys in the rental car, etc., but all that’s to be expected.
Have you been to Maine? Do you live there? What parts do you love? Any pro tips? I’d love to hear. xoxo
P.S. Our Maine trip — and another amazing hotel — when the boys were much younger, and a Maine home with a bedroom looking over water.
Maine
Matt Dunlap wins primary in Maine’s 2nd District as Democrats seek to hang on to Jared Golden’s seat
Matt Dunlap won the Democratic primary in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District after three rounds of ranked-choice voting, the state’s Secretary of State’s office announced Friday.
Democrats are seeking to hang onto a seat in a district that President Trump won in the last three presidential elections. State Sen. Joe Baldacci led after the first two rounds of ranked–choice voting, but Dunlap overtook him after challengers Paige Loud and Jordan Wood were eliminated.
Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, a moderate, is retiring after four terms. His decision not to run for reelection was a blow to Democrats’ efforts to retake the House majority.
In the 2024 election, Golden was one of 13 Democrats to win a House race in a district also won by Mr. Trump. Golden declined to endorse Kamala Harris in the 2024 election and has voted with Republicans on several issues, including measures to avert a shutdown and on reining in Mr. Trump’s war powers authority.
Dunlap, the state’s auditor, will face Republican Paul LePage in November’s general election. LePage is a former two-term governor who ran unopposed in the GOP primary. As of May 20, LePage had $1.2 million cash on hand while Dunlap had less than $100,000, according to Federal Election Commission data.
Dunlap’s win marks a defeat for House Democrats’ campaign arm. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee endorsed Joe Baldacci, a state senator, saying he “has never lost an election and has consistently overperformed Democrats up and down the ballot, including a 3-point overperformance of the presidential ticket in 2024.”
Baldacci was the runner–up, the Maine Secretary of State’s office said. The results were announced 10 days after voters went to the polls due to the ranked-choice tabulations.
KENNEBUNK, Maine (WGME) — A 4-year-old girl is recovering after firefighters say she nearly drowned in a hotel pool in Kennebunk.
It happened at the Hampton Inn Saturday at around 9:30 p.m.
Kennebunk Fire Rescue says it got a call for someone not breathing.
When first responders got there, they say they found a 4-year-old in cardiac arrest after almost drowning.
That girl was flown to a Portland hospital, and she remains in critical condition.
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The cause of the incident is unclear at this time.
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