Candidates and outside groups are pouring millions of dollars into the race for Maine governor as the June 9 primaries approach.
Republican Jonathan Bush and Democrat Hannah Pingree continue to lead their respective parties in fundraising, as they have for months. Pingree has raised $2.1 million this election cycle, while Bush has raised $2.6 million — though nearly half of Bush’s funds are comprised of loans he made to his own campaign.
Other candidates are also relying on their own funds in the waning days of their primary campaigns, including Democrat Angus King III, who loaned himself $700,000 last month.
Outside spending is also ramping up. More than $4.6 million was spent by political action committees in the last two months, led by the Restoration of America PAC Maine, which has spent $1.8 million since April 1 in support of Republican Garrett Mason.
The numbers were included in campaign finance reports filed with the state late last week. The reports are the last comprehensive ones due before next Tuesday’s primaries, which will determine which candidates continue on to November in the race to succeed outgoing Gov. Janet Mills.
The fundraising totals provide a glimpse at which candidates may be best positioned to win next week, though they’re not the only indicator of who’s poised to succeed. Both primaries are crowded and in both races, the fundraising leaders have not led in public polling.
On the Republican side, Bush, a healthcare entrepreneur who is a cousin of former President George W. Bush, has continued to lead the pack of seven candidates in terms of money raised. He’s followed by former U.S. assistant secretary of state Bobby Charles and fitness franchise CEO Ben Midgley, though Midgley’s campaign is largely self-financed.
Charles, who has led public polling in the Republican primary, has raised around $1 million, including $220,000 in loans to his own campaign. Midgley, who has endorsements from some of the Legislature’s top Republican lawmakers, has raised around $320,000 in cash and has loaned himself $750,000.
Garrett Mason, a former Maine Senate majority leader, has raised less than $200,000 but has been the biggest beneficiary of outside spending, with the Restoration of America group putting millions of dollars into the race on his behalf.
Among Democrats, Pingree is followed by King, who has raised $1.9 million, including the $700,000 in loans, and Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who has raised $1.8 million.
The other two candidates in the five-way Democratic primary tied as the top pick among voters in a poll last week from the University of New Hampshire Survey Center. The group had former Senate President Troy Jackson and former Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Nirav Shah each polling at 28% support among primary voters.
Shah has raised $1.2 million — including an $82,000 donation to his own campaign in the latest fundraising period — while Jackson has raised around $1 million.
Both are benefiting from outside spending. Working Mainers First, a PAC supporting Jackson, spent around $560,000 in the last reporting period, while 314 Action Victory Fund, which supports Shah, spent around $630,000.
Other candidates benefitting from outside spending include Bush and Pingree. In the last fundraising period alone, Maine Dream Inc. spent $1.2 million supporting Bush and opposing Charles, while Maine Conservation Voters Action Fund, an environmental group, spent close to $500,000 in support of Pingree.
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