Republican Nominee Bobby Charles Puts the Mills–Pingree Record on Trial in Bangor — on Taxes, Addiction, Children’s Well-Being and Insider Dealing

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BANGOR, Maine -- Republican nominee Bobby Charles dominated the second televised debate of the Maine governor’s race Thursday night, pressing Democrat Hannah Pingree on the record she shares with Gov. Janet Mills and refusing to let the hour stay limited to rehearsed talking points. In an hour hosted in Bangor by the Portland Press Herald, Maine Public and NEWS CENTER Maine, Charles tied Pingree to higher property taxes, higher electricity bills, a projected budget hole, and last-in-the-nation children’s well-being -- and he did it until the moderators stopped him.

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The Portland Press Herald’s live coverage said Charles spent the night connecting Pingree to Mills on housing costs, health care, immigration enforcement and the budget shortfall, while Pingree spent it blaming President Trump and independent Rick Bennett blamed the two-party system. That was the contrast Charles wanted, and he owned it.

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"You don’t invite the arsonist to put out the fire. Hannah Pingree and Janet Mills destroyed our state with higher property taxes, higher electricity bills, and needles in our streets. Hannah did that. As Governor, I’ll fix it." --Bobby Charles, on the debate stage in Bangor, October 8, 2026

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On the budget question itself, Charles was more specific. “Hannah was the right hand” of the administration that “put us in all these problem sets,” he said. Inviting that same team back “makes no sense whatsoever.” Bad policies, he said, would be “just compounded again.”

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WHAT HE PUT ON THE TABLE

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Charles did not arrive with atmospherics. On the opening housing question, he laid out a concrete list: zero property taxes for 100 percent disabled veterans, no public housing for noncitizens, and seizure of Chinese-linked marijuana grow houses so the buildings can be turned into housing for Mainers. On the budget, he blamed Pingree and the Mills administration for the shortfall and named the cuts: an immediate hiring freeze, a restructuring of the Department of Health and Human Services and the education department, and an end to what he called “insider contracts.”

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He rejected Pingree’s proposal for a constitutional amendment to raise property taxes on homes owned by out-of-staters. The Press Herald called his follow-up — a shot at Pingree for running against Trump instead of against Maine’s own record — a candidate for the line of the night. Asked by Maine Public’s Kevin Miller whether the Charles who ran close to Trump in the primary, or a later version, would govern, Charles denied he had changed his tune and said he would confront the president where Maine’s interests required it.

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On data centers, he refused the fashionable answer. He said he is “agnostic” on bringing more of them to Maine. Pingree answered with a moratorium “until we have the strongest laws in the country.” On tribal sovereignty he said he would listen to the people, rather than pledge a signature on a bill modeled on the one Mills vetoed. On abortion he told the state the issue is not the one deciding this election — “This is not the number one issue” — and kept the hour on affordability, safety and the record.

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THE LINES THAT TRAVELED

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Within minutes of the debate, the Charles campaign posted the exchanges that defined the night. Five Facebook reels, all from the Bangor stage, drew more than 1,600 reactions, 260 comments and nearly 290 shares before the night was over:

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• “I’m calling on Janet Mills to suspend the gas tax.” — 565 reactions, 69 comments, 59 shares.
• “Here’s what I was saying about Hannah Pingree and corruption before the press cut me off…” — 358 reactions, 66 comments, 78 shares.
• “This is what happens when your insider family is tight with the press. They don’t let the truth get out.” — 329 reactions, 91 comments, 83 shares.
• “We are last in the nation for children’s well-being. Hannah Pingree is responsible.” — 164 reactions, 23 comments, 34 shares.
• “You don’t invite the arsonist to put out the fire.” — 192 reactions, 15 comments, 34 shares.

The same arsonist line, posted by the campaign on X, was the most-shared Charles clip of the night from the candidate’s own account.

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THEY CUT HIM OFF

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Twice, when Charles turned from policy to Pingree’s record, a moderator stopped the clock.

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On a follow-up about property taxes on out-of-state owners, he pivoted to children’s well-being and was cut off by Maine Public host Jennifer Rooks. The campaign posted the line he was not allowed to finish: Maine is last in the nation for children’s well-being, and Hannah Pingree is responsible.

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In his closing statement he choked up describing addiction in Maine. “We don’t have to live like this,” he said. He then turned to a state grant linked to a nonprofit connected to Pingree’s family. A moderator cut him off. His time was up. The campaign posted what came next anyway: “Here’s what I was saying about Hannah Pingree and corruption before the press cut me off.”

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"This is what happens when your insider family is tight with the press. They don’t let the truth get out." --Bobby Charles, after moderators ended his closing attack on a family-linked state grant

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THE REACTION

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Supporters heard the same debate the press did. Mary Lou Daxland, Maine bureau chief of the Boston Broadside and vice president of the Maine Republican Assembly, wrote after the broadcast: “Just watched the Maine Governor’s Debate. It comes clearer that Hanna Pingree will be Mills 2.0. Bennett is a RINO that trashed the party now that he is an I, and will take votes away from Charles. Get out and vote early and Vote Republican. We can’t afford Democrat Control.”

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Democratic operatives answered on process, not on the record. Kevin Donohoe, communications for the Democratic Governors Association, and a Maine Democratic Party communicator posted that Charles was reading from notes on housing and health care. American Bridge 21st Century clipped the abortion exchange and a line on feeding kids. None of them answered the gas tax, the children’s ranking, or the grant. The clips Mainers actually shared were Charles’s.

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THE CHOICE, AND WHAT IS NEXT

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Charles previewed the night in his own words: if Mainers want change, he is the candidate; if they are happy with the status quo under Janet Mills, they have two other choices. Thursday night made that choice visible. Pingree defended the direction of the last eight years and asked for a constitutional right to abortion. Bennett promised a line-by-line budget review and said he would not change abortion law. Charles named the bills, the kids, and the people who were in the room when it happened.

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Three televised debates remain:

1. WGME CBS 13 and FOX 23 on Tuesday, October 13

2. WMTW on Wednesday, October 14

3. WABI/WAGM on Tuesday, October 20.

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Early voting is underway. Election Day is November 3.

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To watch the clips from Thursday night, follow Bobby Charles for Governor on Facebook and @Bobby4Maine on X, or visit BobbyForMaine.com.

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ABOUT BOBBY CHARLES

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Bobby Charles is the Republican nominee for governor of Maine and a native of Wayne, ME. A former federal prosecutor and naval intelligence officer, he is running to cut taxes, cut crime, bring down electricity and fuel costs, and end the insider dealing that has defined eight years of the Mills administration. He faces Democrat Hannah Pingree and independent Rick Bennett on November 3. More at BobbyForMaine.com.