AUGUSTA − Republican candidates for governor rallied a crowd with pledges to cut state spending and attacks on Democrats on the closing day of the party’s 2026 Maine State Convention Saturday.

Six of the seven candidates in the June 9 primary delivered 15-minute pitches to attendees at the Augusta Civic Center in between entertainment from local country band Timber Creek, which played hits like “Only in America” and “The Red, White and Blue.”

2026 is a consequential election year for Maine, featuring races for governor, U.S. Senate and both U.S. House districts, in addition to legislative and local races. On Friday, the convention featured former Gov. Paul LePage, who is running for Congress in the 2nd District, and U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, who is seeking a sixth term. Robert Wessels, the seventh candidate for governor, also spoke Friday.

Candidates for governor focused their remarks Saturday on cutting state spending, improving affordability and bettering educational outcomes. They also levied plenty of attacks at Maine Democrats, including Gov. Janet Mills, whom they blamed for wasting taxpayer money.

The governor’s race is wide-open, with Mills termed out and running for U.S. Senate, and five Democrats and a handful of independents competing with Republicans to succeed her.

Several of the candidates, including businessmen Ben Midgley, David Jones and Owen McCarthy, are political newcomers who framed themselves as bringing a new perspective to Augusta. “I’m not a politician, a lobbyist or a bureaucrat,” said Midgley, a fitness franchise executive. “I’m from outside that world, and I think that matters.”

“I will bring strong conservative values back to the governor’s office,” he said to applause.

Bobby Charles, who had led polling, pledged to eliminate Maine’s income tax within four years and took aim at the $300 affordability checks Mills fought to include in the state budget. “We’re not going to buy votes with $300 checks that cost $300 to produce,” he said.

Jonathan Bush, an entrepreneur and a cousin of former President George W. Bush, labeled Mills “Queen Janet,” saying she has “taken us to the top of every list you don’t want to be on as a state,” including high electric and healthcare costs and opioid deaths.

“This race is about who is best equipped to help the 1.4 million greatest people on earth get the furry Birkenstock of socialism out of their throats so we can have the American dream,” Bush said.

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The candidates largely avoided criticizing each other, although Garrett Mason, former Maine Senate Majority Leader, hit “those who think a family name qualifies them to lead” without naming any candidate specifically. In addition to Bush, two Democrats running for governor also come from prominent political families.

Hannah Pingree, former speaker of the Maine House, is the daughter of U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, and Angus King III, an entrepreneur, is the son of U.S. Sen. Angus King.

Mason said affordability is the biggest issue facing Maine. He pledged to crack down on illegal marijuana grow operations, which he said are contributing to the housing crisis because homes used for those operations are contaminated and taken off the market, and streamline building operations to facilitate construction.

Education was also a major topic for the candidates, who said they would improve results amid declining test scores. They accused schools of pushing political agendas and ideology.

“Let’s stand up for commonsense and fairness, and boys do not belong in girls’ sports,” said Midgley, referencing a conservative push to remove the rights of transgender athletes to participate in school sports in a way that aligns with their gender identity.

The party on Saturday also approved its 2026 platform, which includes requiring photo identification in order to vote, repealing ranked-choice voting, reducing the tax burden, promoting government efficiency and increasing school choice, among other priorities.

While most of the platform was drafted ahead of Saturday’s event, delegates approved a handful of amendments, including a ban on the use of Sharia law − Islam’s code of conduct − in Maine, that was brought by Burnell Bailey, of York County.

Jones, one of the candidates for governor, spoke in favor of the amendment. “I’m not against immigration,” he said. “I want legal immigration. I want to make sure that people that come here, like my grandparents did, abide by the rules and laws of our country.”

Alex Titcomb, executive director of the conservative advocacy organization The Dinner Table, was among those who opposed the amendment. “The Republican Party platform talks about our constitutional rights − freedom of speech, freedom of religion,” he said. “If we are the party that believes in liberty, then we should defend that liberty, even if people exercise their liberty in a way that disagrees with our personal beliefs.”

The Maine Democratic Party will hold its 2026 state convention next weekend, May 1-2.