Candidate · November 3, 2026
Rick Bennett
On the ballot for Governor · Maine
- issues with public statements
- 10
§1On the ballot
Why this matters: This is exactly how the candidate appears on your ballot, from the state's official candidate list.
| Office | Governor · Maine1 |
|---|---|
| Party on the ballot | Independent1 |
| Status | Open seat — no incumbent is running for this seat. |
| Also on the ballot |
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§2Who they are
Why this matters: Background and experience help you judge how someone might do the job. These come from public records and the candidate's own materials.
Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.
Rick Bennett grew up in Yarmouth, Maine, and lives in Oxford.2 He became CEO of The Corporate Library, a Portland company later renamed GMI Ratings, in 2006, and was a director of the internet provider GWI for 20 years.3 He represents District 18 in the Maine Senate and serves on the Legislature's Housing and Economic Development Committee; the Legislature lists his service as the Senate in the 118th to 121st and 130th to 132nd Legislatures and the House in the 115th and 116th.4
Why they say they're running
His campaign website says he is running because too many families are doing everything right and still falling behind, and to make sure the next generation can build a life in Maine.2,
Websites and accounts
- Campaign websitebennettforgovernor.com5,
7 - Facebookfacebook.com/RickBennettForGovernor5
- Instagraminstagram.com/rickbennettforgovernor5
- YouTubeyoutube.com/@RickBennettforGovernor5
§3What they've said on the issues
Why this matters: These are positions the candidate has stated publicly — on their campaign website or in public statements — summarized in plain words with a link to where they said it. Issues they haven't spoken about publicly are left out.
Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.
Each issue has its own range of views. A position is marked on that range only when the candidate's own statement clearly matches one option; there is no overall left–right score.
Housing
His campaign website says he would create a state-backed down payment guarantee so qualified first-time buyers could buy a home with far less cash up front, without grants or lower lending standards.8
His campaign website says he would audit where housing projects get stuck in state and local permitting, help towns apply zoning and building codes consistently, and use a housing bond to restart Maine's factory-built housing industry.8
Taxes and Budget
His campaign website says he would expand property tax relief for homeowners through stronger income-based protections and a larger homestead exemption.9
- Eliminate property taxes on primary homes
- Cap yearly increases or expand homeowner exemptions
- No new state caps or exemptions; leave property taxes to local governments
Education
His campaign website says he would keep the state's legal requirement to pay at least 55% of the cost of public education and fully fund revenue sharing with towns.9
Health Care
His campaign website says he would commit Maine to a path toward universal health care by removing the federal trigger it says has stalled action and activating the Maine Health Care Board.10
Family and Social Policy
His campaign website says he would fully fund the state's Child Care Affordability Program, support permanent wage supplements for child care workers and expand employer-supported child care through refundable tax credits.11
- Make child care free, or cap what families pay at a set share of income (such as 7%), paid for with new public funding
- Expand help for lower- and middle-income families through grants and tax credits
- Keep current child care funding and tax credits
- Lower costs mainly by easing rules on providers, not with new federal spending
Elections and Government Reform
Abortion and Reproductive Health
His campaign website says he cosponsored the law that wrote Roe v. Wade into Maine law more than 30 years ago and that he believes women should be free to make their own health care decisions.3
Technology, Privacy and AI
His campaign website says he has championed efforts to bring high-speed internet to all parts of Maine.3
Tribal Nations, Territories and DC
His campaign website says he co-sponsored bills to restore the Wabanaki Nations' access to federal laws and to carry out the remaining recommendations of a task force on the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act.3
- Expand tribal governments' authority, including over crimes by non-Native people on tribal lands
- Keep the current division of authority
- Give states more authority over crimes, taxes and regulation on tribal lands
§4Money
Why this matters: Campaigns report where their money comes from and how much they have left.
Candidates for governor file campaign-finance reports with the state, not the FEC, so this guide doesn't include their fundraising. Search the state's reports: Campaign finance disclosure system (public reports) — Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices.13