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Ongoing story / Maine

The 2026 Maine governor race: Hannah Pingree vs. Bobby Charles

Overview · reviewed November 5, 2026

Democrat Hannah Pingree won Maine's 2026 race for governor, defeating Republican Bobby Charles and Rick Bennett in a three-way contest.[1] Pingree and Charles had secured their parties' nominations in June after counting.[2] Charles later drew criticism for proposing that federal immigration agents be sent to polling places.[3]

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Pingree and Charles had secured their parties' nominations in June after counting.[2] Charles later drew criticism for proposing that federal immigration agents be sent to polling places.[3]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2026-06-15 (UTC): 3%, 6 of 234 tracked outlets (1 left, 2 center, 3 right)Week of 2026-06-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-24 (UTC): 3%, 13 of 466 tracked outlets (6 left, 6 center, 1 right)Week of 2026-08-31 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-07 (UTC): 1%, 4 of 480 tracked outlets (4 left, 0 center, 0 right)Week of 2026-09-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-05 (UTC): 1%, 3 of 479 tracked outlets (3 left, 0 center, 0 right)Week of 2026-10-12 (UTC): under 1%, 2 of 476 tracked outlets (2 left, 0 center, 0 right)Week of 2026-10-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-02 (UTC): under 1%, 1 of 471 tracked outlets (1 left, 0 center, 0 right)Week of 2026-11-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outlets, so far

LeftCenterRightLighter bar: this week so far

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 1 more outlet off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (6 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Nov 2, 20261001 of 471under 1%
Oct 12, 20262002 of 476under 1%
Oct 5, 20263003 of 4791%
Sep 7, 20264004 of 4801%
Aug 24, 202666113 of 4663%
Jun 15, 20261236 of 2343%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Nov 3, 2026 · first reported · Headline from Maine Public

    Hannah Pingree defeats Bobby Charles and Rick Bennett in three-way gubernatorial race

Background

Democrat Hannah Pingree and Republican Bobby Charles won Maine's gubernatorial primaries after the June 9 contests proceeded to ranked-choice counting. Their victories were reported after 10 days of counting ballots.[2]

In leaked audio reported in August, Charles said he was friends with White House border czar Tom Homan and would ask him to send Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, agents and U.S. marshals to polling places to guard against noncitizen voting. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, said ICE and law enforcement were prohibited from being at the polls on Election Day.[3]

In September, Charles's sister, Anita Charles, wrote that she would vote for Pingree. Reporting on her endorsement cited disagreements with her brother over abortion rights and education policy.[4]

Supporting stories (4)
  1. Hannah Pingree defeats Bobby Charles and Rick Bennett in three-way gubernatorial race
  2. Pingree and Charles will compete for Maine governor and Dunlap gets Democratic nod for US House
  3. Maine Republican governor nominee requests ICE at polling places during midterms
  4. Bobby Charles’ sister says she will vote for Hannah Pingree for Maine governor

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 6 recorded updates

November 2026

  1. Hannah Pingree defeats Bobby Charles and Rick Bennett in three-way gubernatorial raceHeadline from Maine Public · 1 outlet

October 2026

  1. After final debate, here’s where things stand in the race to become Maine’s next governorHeadline from Portland Press Herald · 2 outlets
  2. Maine's 2nd gubernatorial debate is over. Here's some takeawaysHeadline from Maine Public · 3 outlets

September 2026

  1. Bobby Charles’ sister says she will vote for Hannah Pingree for Maine governorHeadline from Portland Press Herald · 4 outlets

August 2026

  1. Maine Republican governor nominee requests ICE at polling places during midtermsHeadline from The Hill · 14 outlets

June 2026

  1. Pingree and Charles will compete for Maine governor and Dunlap gets Democratic nod for US HouseHeadline from WHEC Rochester · 6 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →