{"id":11534,"date":"2026-09-25T19:07:40","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:07:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/robert-charles\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T19:07:40","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:07:40","slug":"robert-charles","status":"publish","type":"candidate","link":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/robert-charles\/","title":{"rendered":"Robert Charles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

Previous Offices Held<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

None<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\n

Top Three Priorities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Cutting crime and restoring public safety. Lowering taxes and the cost of living for Maine\nfamilies. Fixing Maine's addiction crisis and building real pathways to recovery. I'll bring a fixer's discipline to Augusta: audit spending, cut waste and put Mainers first.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\n

Why are you running?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

I've spent my career serving this country \u2014 in the Navy, and at the State Department. Maine is not working for working people right now. I'm running to fix what's broken in Augusta and give Mainers a government that works for them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\n

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
\n\n\n\n

Economic growth happens when people spend their own money, not when the government\ntakes and spends it for them. Despite roughly $100 billion in combined state and federal\nspending under Democrats over eight years, Maine's economic growth ranked last in\nNew England and 47th nationally in 2025. Income tax collections have surged in recent years. Cutting, and eventually eliminating, the income tax will spur our economy. I will roll back unnecessary regulations and unfunded mandates.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\n

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
\n\n\n\n

Maine ranked near the bottom nationally on 4th grade math and reading, with the steepest\npost-pandemic drop of any state. Years of lowered standards and shifted priorities are the\ncause. I'll bring back accountability, focus on core skills and remove distractions from the\nclassroom.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\n

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
\n\n\n\n

Gov. Mills' administration suspended payments to five Medicaid providers this year over fraud allegations even as she publicly denies fraud is a problem. Net energy billing has cost ratepayers hundreds of millions unnecessarily. I'll pursue real remedies for both. Where I'll change direction: no more bad financial decision-making, no more no-bid contracts, no more out-of-control spending, no more policies that make life unaffordable and wreck healthcare access.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"voter_guide_candidate_first_name":"Robert","voter_guide_candidate_middle_name":"Bruce","voter_guide_candidate_last_name":"Charles","voter_guide_candidate_suffix":"","voter_guide_candidate_race_id":11531,"voter_guide_candidate_age":66,"voter_guide_candidate_hometown":"","voter_guide_candidate_occupation":"Attorney, president and managing member of The Charles Group","voter_guide_candidate_bio":"Naval intelligence officer, litigator, federal investigator and assistant secretary of state under Colin Powell. Founded The Charles Group. Grew up in Wayne, Maine on a teacher's salary.","voter_guide_candidate_education":"B.A. Dartmouth College, M.A. Oxford University, J.D. Columbia Law School","voter_guide_candidate_years_in_municipality":"","voter_guide_candidate_headshot_url":"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/open?id=1hjetEj3OUmzJdLpHZ9Bx-vPYoATTyGY0","voter_guide_candidate_date_filed":"","footnotes":""},"vg_party":[564],"vg_residence_municipality":[],"class_list":["post-11534","candidate","type-candidate","status-publish","hentry","vg_party-republican"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/11534","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\/11534\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11535,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/11534\/revisions\/11535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"vg_party","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_party?post=11534"},{"taxonomy":"vg_residence_municipality","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_residence_municipality?post=11534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}