Next year is shaping up to be a wild year in Maine politics — perhaps the craziest in 40 years.

With the Blaine House open, a potentially competitive U.S. Senate seat and the always-competitive 2nd Congressional District, there’s a lot going on in Maine in 2026.

It’s not just about 2026 itself, either: 2030 is going to be looming large in everyone’s minds as well. By then, Sen. Angus King will be up for another term in office, and since he’ll be 86 there will be a great deal of speculation about his potential retirement.

It’s not just that we have interesting interesting races coming up that may well set the stage for the future, it’s that we have interesting candidates running — or, at least, potentially running.

Seemingly from out of nowhere, Angus S. King III, the son of our junior senator, announced a bid for governor as a Democrat, joining Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows as the other formally declared Democratic candidate. Troy Jackson, the former Senate president, is “exploring” a run and Hannah Pingree, the former speaker of the House and daughter of Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, is also rumored to be considering a campaign, as is Congressman Jared Golden.

So, we may well have two children of current members of the state’s congressional delegation running for governor, as well as a current congressman, but ambitious Democrats aren’t about to step aside for either one of them.

To be perfectly clear, simply having the right name doesn’t make one qualified to be governor; as I’ve noted before, experience matters. King III has no governmental or political experience other than through his father’s career — a career that his father made as an independent, not as a Democrat.

If anything, diehard Democrats may well be less than thrilled with the idea of continuing the King legacy in any way. That could be a boost to Pingree and Golden, should either of them run, as he might draw away some of the ire they’d otherwise face. Or, it could be a boost to someone like Bellows or Jackson, as they make a case against all legacy candidates.

Meanwhile, on the Republican side, neither of the declared candidates seem like true contenders: they’ve either only run for local office or nothing at all ever before. While one of them may yet break out as a candidate, nothing about any of them exactly seems inherently gubernatorial.

Robert Charles has the governing experience to be governor, but not the political experience to get elected. The only other declared candidate, Robert Wessels, has only been a selectman in Paris. We’ll probably see a crowded field competing for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, but someone more prominent and experienced will likely emerge as the eventual nominee.

If Gov. Janet Mills decides to challenge Susan Collins for the U.S. Senate, she may well face only token opposition in the primary. No other well-known candidates have declared for that race yet. If she decides to pass on a Senate run — which wouldn’t be a big surprise — Democrats would lack a formidable candidate. Their obvious next best choice would be Golden, but it seems unlikely that he’d run against his former boss. If they decline, some of the current or potential Democratic gubernatorial candidates may run for the U.S. Senate instead, but any money they raise as gubernatorial candidates can’t be switched over to a federal race. Instead, they’d start from scratch.

Even if they both pass on the race, some Democrat may well make it close, though it’s difficult to see anyone else ultimately prevailing over Collins. Rather, they’re more likely to use a run as a quiet launching pad for a future campaign, just as Shenna Bellows did when she challenged Collins in 2014.

Regardless of what Golden chooses to do, the 2nd Congressional District will be an exciting race with former Gov. Paul LePage announcing his congressional campaign. He’ll either be challenging Golden or running against whichever Democrat emerges from a crowded primary, but it’s going to be compelling. Indeed, Golden may have a primary challenger anyway: State Auditor (and former Secretary of State) Matt Dunlap is considering running.

Right now, the safest bet is — contrary to many people’s expectations — that Mills passes on a Senate campaign and Golden stays put in the House. Regardless of their decisions, though, next year is shaping up to be fascinating. Grab some popcorn.