Bennett’s campaign fueled by Republican donors despite independent label

State Sen. Rick Bennett’s independent campaign for Maine governor is being supported by Republican donors and operatives, including allies of former far-right Gov. Paul LePage.

Maine has a history of electing independents to statewide office. Angus King, who is one of only two independents in the U.S. Senate, served as governor from 1995 to 2003. Independent Eliot Cutler came in second in the state’s 2010 governor race.

Bennett is a strange choice to pick up that mantle. He was vice chair of the Maine Republican Party from 2013 to 2017 and has both sought and held multiple offices in the state as a member of the GOP. He didn’t end his affiliation with the party until last year, when he launched his current campaign.

“We need leaders who will work with anyone—Republican, Democrat, or independent—to ease the financial pressure on families,” Bennett said in his campaign launch video. “That’s why I’m running as an independent.”

Campaign finance disclosures show that Maine Wins Together, the chief super PAC supporting Bennett, is almost entirely funded by wealthy Republicans.

The group took in $50,000 this year from Gray and Sandra Bahre, who inherited an auto-racing fortune. The duo also gave $14,000 to LePage, who is running for Congress this year in Maine’s 2nd District. They gave another $24,000 to LePage’s victory fund, $10,000 to a PAC supporting LePage, and $15,000 to the Maine Republican Party.

Maine Wins Together took in another $50,000 from liquor magnate Paul Coulombe. In 2014, Coulombe gave $160,000 to the Maine Republican Party. He also contributed to LePage’s failed 2022 bid for governor.

LePage, who has called himself “Donald Trump before Donald Trump,” served as governor from 2011 to 2019. He became known during this period for his extremist views and offensive remarks. He infamously refused to expand Medicaid in the state even after voters passed a referendum requiring him to do so.

Bennett campaigned with LePage in 2010 and served on LePage’s transition team after the election. LePage later wrote a letter recommending Bennett for a State Department role in the first Trump administration.

Finance disclosures also indicate that Bennett’s campaign is being advised by Election Hive, a Utah-based Republican consulting firm. The firm has also worked with Sen. Mike Lee, whom the Institute for Legislative Analysis ranked as the most conservative senator of 2024.

Bennett will face Democrat Hannah Pingree and Republican Bobby Charles in the general election. A recent Siena Research Institute poll found Bennett trailing both candidates with only 8% support.