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Rick Bennett

Unaffiliated · ME · Maine State Senator

Rick Bennett is a Maine State Senator and former President of the Maine Senate running as an independent for Governor in 2026. A longtime Republican from Oxford who left the party to mount his independent gubernatorial bid, he previously ran for U.S. Senate in 2012. He joins Democrat Hannah Pingree and Republican Bobby Charles on the November general-election ballot.

Track record

Anti-Corruption

· 2 records

  • Sponsored Senate legislation (LD 951) to require political action committees receiving large single-source contributions to disclose the original source of the funds; the dark-money transparency bill died in the Legislature in 2025.

    July 14, 2025For

    Source: mainemorningstar.com · researched July 3, 2026

  • Chaired the successful 2023 Maine referendum banning foreign-government and foreign-entity spending on Maine ballot campaigns, which passed by a record margin.

    November 7, 2023For

    Source: thefulcrum.us · researched July 3, 2026

General

· 1 record

  • Left the Republican Party to run for Governor as an independent, framing his campaign around breaking from the two-party system, after a long career that included serving as President of the Maine Senate.

    November 20, 2025

    Source: mainemorningstar.com · researched July 3, 2026

Elections

Profile last researched July 3, 2026.