Unproven Corruption Claims Dominate Final Maine Gubernatorial Debate

Overview

• The televised WMTW debate Wednesday brought Republican Bobby Charles, Democrat Hannah Pingree, and independent Rick Bennett together and gave Charles repeated opportunities to press corruption charges tied to projects involving Pingree’s husband.
• Charles pointed to an $840,000 MaineHousing award to North Haven Sustainable Housing and about $38,000 in state-related funding cited as linked to a film, but local reporting says the claims rest on two allegations that are not supported by the public record.
• The Island Institute directly called the claim that its grant paid for Jason Mann’s film false and WMTW’s fact check found MaineHousing is separate from Pingree’s former office and that state law allows a cabinet member to lead a nonprofit so long as they follow conflict rules and do not profit.
• An audio recording reported during the campaign captured Charles saying he would request ICE and marshals be sent to Maine before the election; the Charles campaign does not dispute the recording but says it has not made that call and state law restricts federal officers near polling places.
• Pingree holds a steady lead in public polls since the June primaries, Charles has limited national GOP backing, Bennett polls in the single digits, and affordability issues such as housing and healthcare remain the dominant voter concerns heading into Nov. 3.