Republican Sen. Rick Bennett announces independent bid for Maine governor

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. 

“My candidacy is not an indictment of either party,” Bennett told Maine Morning Star in an interview. “It’s an indictment of the party structure and parties as the solution to solving our problems.” 

Calling his independent bid liberating, Bennett said he intends to take his message — one of fiscal responsibility — directly to Maine people and not a subset of the electorate, an approach he sees as a return to Maine’s independent tradition. 

“I see politics beginning to slide more towards the politics of Washington,” Bennett said, “and I think we have the opportunity as Maine people to say no to that.” 

A lifelong Mainer, Bennett currently serves as Oxford County’s senator, a term he plans to finish in 2026 to total 18 combined years of nonconsecutive service in the Maine House of Representatives and Senate, including formerly serving as Senate president. He’s vied for higher office before. Running as a Republican, Bennett narrowly lost a bid for Maine’s 2nd Congressional district in 1994 and a primary race for U.S. Senate in 2012.