Jason Cherry, a retired FBI agent from Unity, announced Monday that he’s seeking the nomination for governor, joining a crowded field of well-known Democrats looking to replace Gov. Janet Mills, who is termed out.

Cherry, who has no prior elected experience, ran unsuccessfully as an independent against U.S. Sen. Angus King last year.

He said in an email that he doesn’t believe Republicans are taking “the correct moral stance” against President Donald Trump, but also said Democrats have had their own problems, including “the cover-up of (former President Joe) Biden’s mental health.”

“It is clear we need a coalition of people to fix our government at the local, state, and federal levels,” he said. “I honestly did not want to choose a side, so I will do my best to support the ideas of democracy and to establish more measures in order to improve public ownership of government through a direct democracy.”

Cherry, 55, said he’s running as “a reformer” looking to increase public access to state initiatives, referendums, legislative actions, debates and other governmental measures through an online forum.

He supports having a popularly elected attorney general, a position currently appointed by the Legislature, and creating a bipartisan panel to oversee a “chief election official,” who also would be elected. Currently, the secretary of state oversees elections and is also selected by the Legislature.

Cherry is seeking the Democratic nomination against a field of heavy hitters, including Secretary of State Shenna Bellows; renewable energy entrepreneur Angus King III (son of U.S. Sen. Angus King); former speaker of the House and director of the Mills’ Office of Policy and Innovation Hannah Pingree (daughter of U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree); and former Senate President Troy Jackson. Kenneth Pinet is also running as a Democrat.

The Republican primary has so far drawn at least six candidates: Robert “Bobby” Charles,  a lawyer who served as an assistant secretary of state under President George W. Bush; Portland resident Kenneth Capron; Falmouth broker David Jones; state Sen. James Libby, medical technology entrepreneur Owen McCarthy and Robert Wessels.

Ben Midgley, a former fitness franchise executive from Kennebunkport, is expected to announce his campaign for the Republican primary this week.

State Sen. Rick Bennett, a former Republican from Oxford, and Alexander Murchison are running as independents.

Party-affiliated candidates for governor need to collect between 2,000 and 2,500 signatures from Maine voters to qualify for the ballot, and can begin circulating petitions on Jan. 1. Unenrolled candidates must collect between 4,000 and 5,000 signatures by June 1.

Signatures for affiliated candidates are due to the Maine Department of the Secretary of State by March 16, 2026, and primary elections are scheduled for June 9, 2026.