Maine GOP Gov Nominee Tests Whether Trump’s Noncitizen Voting Delusions Are a Winning Strategy

Strange Bedfellows

It’s a strange move for a Republican candidate running in a race that Cook Political Report has rated a “solid D.” Ever since he won the Republican nomination in Maine’s gubernatorial race, candidate Bobby Charles has attempted to walk a fine line between courting President Trump’s fans in the state and not running as a too-openly-MAGA candidate.

Just this week, Vice President JD Vance announced his support for Charles during a campaign rally for the candidate, but Trump has, thus far, stayed out of the race personally. It’s something that Charles may welcome. Earlier this month, Charles distanced himself ever so slightly from the president, telling voters at a rally that he doesn’t know Trump.

“I will work with him,” Charles said. “I will also stand up against him if he opposes something Maine needs.”

So why exactly would the Republican candidate choose to entertain President Trump’s relentless delusions and conspiracy theories about noncitizens being paid by Democrats to vote in federal elections? Perhaps he’s banking on Trump’s election denialism resonating more among Maine voters than ties to the president himself. Or perhaps it’s more about stoking anti-immigrant sentiments. Or some combination of the above.

In an audio recording from a conversation with activists last week, obtained by the Bangor Daily News, Charles was heard bragging about his ties to Trump border czar Tom Homan. And he said he plans to ask the White House to act on suggestions from Trump’s allies outside the administration that he send Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to polling place in Maine for the midterms.

“I’m going to ask Tom — three or four weeks before the election, maybe three — I’m going to make an appeal for ICE and marshals to be at our voting booths,” Charles said during a gathering of Maine Young Republicans on August 20, per the Bangor Daily News. “Do you think the illegals who are being paid money are going to like that?”

When Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a Columbian immigrant, was killed by ICE in July, mass protests against the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operation broke out across the state. The killing even prompted Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) — who is facing a tough reelection this cycle and whose race is among those that will determine Senate control next year — to call on the Department of Homeland Security to “cease all non-urgent vehicle stops.” The Trump administration actually briefly agreed to this in the aftermath of the killing.

Charles may have been attempting to tout his closeness to members of the Trump administration he may see as somewhat less polarizing. The Bangor Daily news also reported that Charles referred to Homan as a “friend” he used to be on Fox News with “all the time together.”

The myth of noncitizen voting is one that Trump has held onto for years. He elevated it throughout the 2024 presidential election only to drop the conspiracy theory when he won the election. He’s been back at it for months now as he attempts a flurry of (unconstitutional) actions ahead of the midterms to nationalize elections in the U.S. It’s taken the form of executive orders on mail-in voting (the fate of which my colleague Kate Riga has the latest on here) and trying to force Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, a sweeping voter suppression bill that would mandate documentary proof of citizenship just to register to vote, and has no chance of passing in the Senate.

The Trump administration has largely shrugged off talk of DHS sending ICE agents to polling places, mostly because it is against federal law for armed federal agents to be at polling places. But there’s a reason his allies outside the administration are agitating around the idea. Trump has for years expressed regret that he did not send the military in to seize voting machines in certain counties after he lost the 2020 election. And Democrats have been sounding the alarm that he may not let the opportunity pass him by again.

Maine’s Democratic Secretary of State Shenna Bellows quickly shot down the remarks: “Bobby Charles can call whoever he wants, but he can’t change the Constitution or the law.”

As did Charles’ Democratic opponent in the gubernatorial race, Hannah Pingree.

“My opponent is on the internet pretending he is no longer a proxy for Donald Trump, and meanwhile he is begging Trump’s ICE to come interfere with our free and fair elections,” Pingree told NOTUS. “I think that conduct speaks for itself and I trust the Maine people to see it for what it is.”

Related reading from WaPo: Immigration officers are being diverted to Trump’s voter-fraud effort

New Poll Shows Americans Don’t Like Trump’s Election Talk

New polling from Strength in Numbers has found that some of Trump’s efforts to add restrictions to the voting process are not as popular as Trump claims they are. Per Democracy Docket:

But a July Strength in Numbers/Verasight poll found that the more voters heard about the SAVE America Act, the more they soured on it. Other polls have shown that as voters come to understand that documentary proof of citizenship would prevent many otherwise eligible voters from casting ballots — all nominally to block but a handful of illegal votes — net support for the bill flips to net opposition. 

Wildly Unpopular Trump Does Everything He Can to Make Midterms About Himself for Some Reason

Amid the worst approval ratings of his second term thus far, Trump is, for some reason, pushing to make the midterms elections about himself and his record, which most Americans do not really approve of right now. The Atlantic reported last night that Trump is planning to spend millions on ads ahead of the general election that will tout his record.

And the Associated Press reported this morning that the unprecedented decision by the Republican Party to hold a party midterms convention in Dallas next month is mostly about feeding Trump’s ego. Per the AP:

Trump and Vice President JD Vance are both set to headline respective nights, with Vance to speak on Wednesday night and Trump on Thursday.

The unusual gathering, aimed at promoting the party’s candidates and the Trump administration’s agenda, is being billed by the Republican National Committee as “a primetime showcase for President Trump’s success, candidates, and causes that have propelled the 2026 midterms to unprecedented focus.”

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