{"id":11532,"date":"2026-09-25T19:07:40","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:07:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/rick-bennett\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T19:07:40","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:07:40","slug":"rick-bennett","status":"publish","type":"candidate","link":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/rick-bennett\/","title":{"rendered":"Rick Bennett"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e44e021b wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-4-font-size\">Previous Offices Held<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-left is-style-short-red\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Elected to the Maine Senate in 1996, 1998, 2000, and 2002; served 1996\u20132004, including as president of the Maine Senate (2001\u20132002). Elected again to the Maine Senate in 2020, 2022 and 2024, serving 2020\u2013present. Elected to Maine House in 1990 and 1992. Nominee for U.S. Congress (2nd District) in 1994.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e44e021b wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-4-font-size\">Top Three Priorities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-left is-style-short-red\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My top three priorities are: 1. to make life affordable by lowering the costs of housing, energy, healthcare, taxes and childcare. 2. grow Maine\u2019s economy by strengthening schools, workforce training and job creation so young people can build a life here and 3.) restore trust in government by cutting waste, eliminating corruption and improving transparency.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e44e021b wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-4-font-size\">Why are you running?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-left is-style-short-red\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019m running for governor because too many families are doing everything right and still falling behind. People want the basics: a fair shot, a government that tells the truth and a future their kids can afford. Partisan politics is failing Maine people. We need experienced independent leadership. Maine is worth fighting for, and I\u2019m in this race to make sure the next generation can build a life here, too.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e44e021b wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-4-font-size\">Maine\u2019s annual budget grew nearly twofold during the Mills administration. Is this a welcome or an unwelcome trend? What would you do to continue or reverse it?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-left is-style-short-red\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is unacceptable. We are seeing higher spending without enough accountability for results. As governor, I will eliminate corruption and reform no-bid contracting and make every tax dollar count, deliver meaningful tax relief, streamline state-local government functions to cut costs and hold tax expenditures accountable. I will also create the Office of Inspector General to investigate any allegations of corruption.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e44e021b wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-4-font-size\">Maine has shown steep declines in early education test scores in recent years, an alarming trend. What is causing this problem, and what would you do to fix it?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-left is-style-short-red\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The decline has several causes: learning loss, chronic absenteeism, too much screen distraction, unmet mental health needs and not enough early intervention. As governor, I will prioritize making proficiency in reading, writing and math the top priority through fourth grade, expand early screening and tutoring, support teachers with better training and materials, give every student a safe and supportive environment to learn and prepare every student for real life.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e44e021b wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-4-font-size\">What is one policy area where you\u2019d like to build on the progress of the Mills Administration, and what is one policy area where you\u2019d like to change direction from her leadership? Please explain briefly.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-left is-style-short-red\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I will build on progress fighting the opioid crisis. Hannah Pingree had oversight over the Mills administration\u2019s failed response to the housing crisis. As governor, I will treat housing policy like the crisis it is. I&#039;ll reduce down payments for first-time homebuyers, provide direct mortgage support to make monthly payments affordable, expand housing supply by reviving factory-built housing, repair homes we have and approve projects faster through a housing bottleneck audit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5053,"template":"","meta":{"voter_guide_candidate_first_name":"Rick","voter_guide_candidate_middle_name":"","voter_guide_candidate_last_name":"Bennett","voter_guide_candidate_suffix":"","voter_guide_candidate_race_id":11531,"voter_guide_candidate_age":63,"voter_guide_candidate_hometown":"","voter_guide_candidate_occupation":"State senator, businessman","voter_guide_candidate_bio":"Current state senator, former Senate president and longtime Maine business leader focused on affordability, accountability and independent leadership. Married 35 years, father of two adult children.","voter_guide_candidate_education":"B.A. Harvard College, M.B.A. University of Southern Maine","voter_guide_candidate_years_in_municipality":"","voter_guide_candidate_headshot_url":"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/open?id=15Lg2Gj0gHGxok0Lac-zjpi3fmtUhu2LY","voter_guide_candidate_date_filed":"","footnotes":""},"vg_party":[466],"vg_residence_municipality":[],"class_list":["post-11532","candidate","type-candidate","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","vg_party-independent"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/11532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/candidate"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/11532\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11533,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/11532\/revisions\/11533"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"vg_party","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_party?post=11532"},{"taxonomy":"vg_residence_municipality","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_residence_municipality?post=11532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}