FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 25, 2026
CONTACT: press@bobbyformaine.com
AUGUSTA, MAINE — Bobby Charles will hold a press conference Friday morning at the Maine State Capitol to lay out the record of extreme left-wing failure that Augusta's political class has produced — and to issue a direct public challenge to his opponents that they cannot ignore.
Charles is calling on both Hannah Pingree and Rick Bennett to join him in a pledge to refuse money from Augusta lobbyists, CMP, and AI data center companies.
"I'm calling on Hannah Pingree and Rick Bennett to join me in a pledge not to take money from Augusta lobbyists, CMP, and AI data center companies," said Charles. "Ask them if they will. Their answer will tell Mainers everything they need to know about who they actually work for."
The challenge cuts to the heart of what Charles says is the defining issue of this race. Between them, Hannah Pingree and Rick Bennett have accumulated more than four decades in Augusta. Together, they are Augusta. And together, their policies have been extreme.
Defunding law enforcement. Handing out needles that ended up in parks and playgrounds. Bail programs that put criminals back on the street the same night they were arrested. Hospitals and maternity wards shuttered across rural Maine. Kids reading below grade level at rates not seen in three decades. Energy prices that jumped 36 percent in a single year — the worst increase in the nation. A tax burden that ranks among the heaviest in America. A business climate ranked 43rd in the country. Those are not moderate outcomes. Those are the results of extreme left-wing governance, and Pingree and Bennett own every bit of it.
"You want to talk about extremes?" said Charles. "Defunding the police is extreme. Handing out needles that end up in our kids' playgrounds is extreme. Letting nine maternity wards close while women in rural Maine drive four hours to give birth — that is extreme. The only thing that is not extreme is common sense. And common sense is not extreme."
Charles, a Navy veteran and former federal investigator who grew up in Wayne, Maine, says he is running to end the era of insider politics that has let Mainers down at every turn.
"Bennett and Pingree are not here to fix Augusta — they are Augusta," said Charles. "They spent decades climbing that ladder. They owe people favors. The lobbyists, the utility companies, the special interests — those are their people. That is who has been calling the shots, and that is why nothing ever changes for working Mainers."
Charles says his platform is straightforward — and it is anything but extreme. Lower energy prices. Lower taxes. Safer communities. Schools that actually teach kids to read. Hospitals that stay open. A Maine where seniors are not taxed out of homes their families have owned for generations and where young people can afford to stay.
"Common sense is not extreme," said Charles. "Cutting crime is not extreme. Cutting taxes is not extreme. Holding Augusta accountable is not extreme. What is extreme is four decades of the same insiders producing the same failures and asking for four more years. That ends in November."
MEDIA AVAILABILITY:
WHAT: Press Conference, Bobby Charles, Republican Nominee for Governor of Maine
WHEN: Friday, June 26, 2026 | 10:00 AM
WHERE: Welcome Center, Maine State Capitol, Augusta, ME 04430
