At a Thursday campaign event with former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman, Maine Sen. Rick Bennett from Oxford denounced the two-party system, making the case for his independent bid for governor.

AUBURN, Maine — Some state lawmakers are calling on Gov. Janet Mills to call the Legislature into a special session next month to deal with the consequences of the ongoing federal government shutdown.

Rick Bennett of Oxford is a state senator and independent candidate for governor.

State Senator Rick Bennett. Independent for Governor of Maine. Why He Left the GOP. Vacationland as a Bellwether for the Independent Movement. The Massive Drop in Canadian Tourism. Trump vs Governors. Leadership After The Charlie Kirk Assassination.

In Maine, a cold-weather state, many of the school buildings are older, and have been built to hold heat in during harsh winters, rather than provide air circulation and cooling. Rick Bennett sponsors a bill to require temperature standards in schools.

While the election for Maine’s next governor is still more than a year out, several candidates have already made day one pledges to support a cause that’s been stalled by the current governor: tribal sovereignty. 

Today, experts from across the state are gathering in Bangor for the Maine Affordable Housing Conference to discuss the future of housing. It could not come at a more urgent time.

Thanks to private funding and the passage of bipartisan legislation, thousands more Maine students will benefit from overnight outdoor educational experiences in the 2025-26 school year 

JAY — The Brett M. Staples Brain Disorder Awareness Coalition convened community leaders and healthcare professionals July 23 to promote understanding and advocacy around serious brain disorders in Maine.

The Maine Legislature largely opted to maintain the status quo regarding campaign finance regulations this year, rejecting attempts to expand clean elections, require more transparency into who is spending in elections and ban direct corporate contributions to candidates.  

The most common reasons cited by lawmakers, who voted down many of these bills in committee before the proposals even reached the chambers, were the tight budget year and that the plans didn’t get to the root causes of money in politics.

State Sen. Rick Bennett announced Tuesday that he's unenrolling from the Republican party to run for governor as an independent, an entry that could shake up the 2026 contest for the Democratic and Republican nominees next year.

Nineteen-thousand Mainers experience sexual violence every year, but Maine still does not have a statewide rape kit tracking system.

The Republican lawmaker from Oxford intends to run as an independent candidate for Maine governor in the 2026 election.

State Sen. Rick Bennett announced Tuesday that he's unenrolling from the Republican party to run for governor as an independent, an entry that could shake up the 2026 contest for the Democratic and Republican nominees next year.

After decades of public service as a Republican, state Sen. Rick Bennett of Oxford announced on Tuesday that he is running for governor as an independent.