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STATEMENT FROM DR. NIRAV SHAH ON SUSPENDING HIS U.S. SENATE CAMPAIGN, ENDORSING TROY JACKSON “A few weeks ago, I entered this race because I could not accept the idea of Susan Collins gliding to a sixth term at the very moment Maine families are being forced to pay the price for her votes. Today, I am stepping aside, and I am doing it for exactly the same reason that led me to get in: we must defeat Susan Collins, and the Democratic Party must be unified to do it. To our volunteers and supporters, thank you does not begin to cover it. I’ve never been a politician, and when I launched my gubernatorial campaign last October, I didn’t have a political machine or even an email list. This past week, everyday Mainers powered our volunteer-led grassroots campaign back to life, collecting nearly 1,000 signatures in three days, making 15,000 phone calls in one week, and helping us earn thousands of votes for our delegates this past weekend. Our volunteers come from every corner of Maine and every walk of life: educators, health care workers, veterans, college students, small-business owners, farmers, and more. They represent the very best of Maine, united by a deep belief in a better future for our state. To every person who believed in us and showed up: thank you from the bottom of my heart. To Maine Democrats: Susan Collins will not be defeated without a united Democratic Party. And we cannot unite without treating one another with respect. No matter whom you supported in this race, I urge us all to remember that in the weeks ahead. As we turn to defeating Susan Collins, Mainers must remember that she is not a moderate. When the most extreme policies have threatened Maine, she has repeatedly failed to stop them. She voted for the Iraq War, gave ICE billions with no meaningful guardrails and helped put Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court before Roe was overturned. Again and again, she has sided with Donald Trump when Maine needed her to stand up to him. After nearly …
2026 Governor’s Race Memo: State of the Race Memo and Strategy Against Bobby Charles To: Maine Democratic State Legislators, County Chairs, and Democratic Stakeholders From: Devon Murphy-Anderson, Executive Director, Maine Democratic Party; Lauryn Fanguen, Communications Advisor, Maine Democratic Party 2026 Governor’s Race Memo: State of the Race Memo and Strategy Against Bobby Charles The Maine Democratic Party is entering the next phase of the gubernatorial race with a clear objective: define the choice for voters early and build the coalition necessary to win in November. On the ground, Mainers continue to tell us that affordability is their top concern. Data collected from the MDP’s scaled field program to defeat Question 1 that knocked 42,000 doors and made 400,000 calls to voters in the fall of 2025 revealed that Mainers felt crushed under the cost of living. Tens of thousands of Mainers told our volunteers that medical costs were their number one pain point, especially in Congressional District 2; voters in Congressional District 1 listed housing affordability as a close second to medical costs. This data has been consistently reinforced by data collected in the Lewiston special election and via direct voter contact data in the lead up to our June 9th primary. V oters are looking for leadership that will lower costs, protect access to affordable health care and rural hospitals, strengthen public education, defend abortion rights, and keep moving Maine forward. The candidate who is most trusted to address those concerns will have a significant advantage in this race. As the campaign moves into the general election, our strategy will focus not only on making the affirmative case for Hannah Pingree, but also on defining Bobby Charles before he can redefine himself for a broader electorate. Bobby Charles enters the race with significant vulnerabilities. His close alignment with Donald Trump, support for deeply unpopular MAGA policies, record on health care a…