The 2026 gubernatorial election is 16 months away, yet Republican hopeful Bobby Charles has already managed to break through the mostly routine campaign rollouts by the rest of the ever-growing field of candidates.
He’s done it by repeatedly questioning the national allegiances of one of the Maine Legislature’s three Somali-born lawmakers.
In doing so, Charles has brought condemnation from most of the Democratic candidates, rallied some right-wing activists and the Maine Republican Party to his cause and received a tacit blessing from the federal agency that’s directing the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign.
It’s also the latest example of how the conservative media ecosystem is driving the messaging and actions of Republican politicians and, in this case, the rhetoric of a Maine candidate for governor.
A 2022 interview with Rep. Deqa Dhalac, D-South Portland, is the epicenter of this episode. It was resurfaced in July by End Wokeness, a prominent right-wing influencing account on Elon Musk’s social media site X. The same account last year helped spread baseless claims that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating residents’ pets, an assertion repeated in right-wing social media and, eventually, by President Donald Trump during his 2024 debate with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
This time End Wokeness’ post about Dhalac was amplified by the official account of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
Dhalac immigrated to the U.S. 30 years ago after fleeing war-torn Somalia. She eventually became a naturalized U.S. citizen. Dhalac was elected mayor of South Portland in 2022, becoming the first Somali-born mayor in the U.S. That distinction brought national press attention, including an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America” in which Dhalac was asked what she’s hearing from people in Somalia. She expressed hope that her victory would help bring democratic reforms to the country.
“They are asking, ‘what can we do back home in Somalia, how we can change policies, how can the politics in Somalia resonate what we have in the United States — the democracy we have — how can you help us, you know, be a better country and build back what we used to have a long time ago,’” she said. “So hopefully we will be able to help our country, our former country, Somalia, and show what we can do here and that it can also be built into other countries.”
A video of Dhalac’s interview was posted on July 23 by End Wokeness to its 3.5 million followers. End Wokeness’ text promoting the video shortened her remarks to highlight four words, emphasized below in italics.
“Maine Representative Deqa Dhalac (D) says her goal is to help ‘our country of Somalia,’” it posted alongside the interview excerpt.
About three hours later, the official account run by the Department of Homeland Security boosted End Wokeness’ post to its 2.5 million followers with a single comment, “Pause.” It was followed by a second post with a photo of President Trump suggesting that he’s listening.
Charles would later write in a Portland Press Herald column that the DHS posts justified his criticism of Dhalac.
The DHS posts were spread further by local right-wing websites and personalities before Charles, an attorney and former Naval Intelligence Officer, posted his first reaction on social media.
“A Maine representative, a Democrat, Deqa Dhalac, today went out and said that her goal is to protect ‘our country, Somalia,’” he said in a Facebook video. “Ms. Dhalac, with all due respect, you are an American, and if you are an American your country is the United States of America.”
Charles’ subsequent posts questioned Dhalac’s allegiance to the U.S. and suggested that she had no business representing Maine taxpayers if her priority is Somalia.
Charles is echoing rhetoric that’s been used against Dhalac for months by The Maine Wire, a conservative website. Since at least March, the site has repeatedly accused Dhalac of putting “America last” and putting “Somalia first.” The site, which is supported by influential judicial activist and seasonal Maine resident Leonard Leo, has then amplified Charles’ focus on Dhalac on its news page and social media feeds.
Dhalac is one member in the 151-seat House of Representatives. Yet since Aug. 1, Charles has posted about her or responded to the backlash to his inflammatory statements roughly 20 times. The number is even higher on X. There, many commenters cheer him on and say Dhalac and other Somali immigrants should be deported.
At one point, Charles circulated a petition calling for Dhalac to apologize or resign and attempted to deliver signed copies to the House majority office at the State House. He’s also used Dhalac as an avatar for “Augusta Democrats,” posting a cartoon of a woman in a hijab sitting in a classroom with “reading assignments” that include the U.S. Constitution and Pledge of Allegiance.
While Charles’ comments have received support in conservative circles, his targeting of her has led elected Democrats and gubernatorial hopefuls to call his posts “racist” and “xenophobic.”
“There is no place in Maine for disgusting smear campaigns,” House Speaker Ryan Fecteau said in a joint statement with his leadership team.
Dhalac has not commented on the controversy, but last week thanked those who have defended her in a Facebook post. Some of her supporters have noted that many immigrants often feel a responsibility to help those in their native country. Many still have family there. The World Bank, which tracks bank transfers from immigrants to their home countries, reported $656 billion in remittances worldwide in 2023, including $54 billion to the Sub-Saharan African countries that include Somalia.
Nevertheless, Democrats’ denunciation has only further emboldened Charles, who has since broadened his critique to say Dhalac is evidence of Democrats’ “split loyalties.” He’s further asserted that corruption is hidden and nurtured by the Democratic leaders who currently hold power in Augusta.
“Democrat fury with my candidacy is not about who I am,” he wrote in a column for the Maine Wire. “They do not know me. They only know my record. It is about what I will do, when governor. That terrifies them. It should.”
Maine Public tried to talk to Charles about his allegations and statements, but he did not respond to a message left on his mobile phone. This week he called on the Department of Justice and FBI to investigate the Mills administration, and also to get ICE “to wire brush every last illegal alien from Maine’s streets.”
A potential Gov. Bush in Maine?
Bobby Charles’ attacks on Rep. Dhalac — and his embrace of right-wing rhetoric on immigration and Democratic corruption — could be a way of attempting to stand out early in an already-crowded Republican field.
There are currently seven competitors for the GOP nomination, which will be decided during the June 9 primary: Bobby Charles, Kenneth Capron, David Jones, James Libby, Owen McCarthy, Benjamin Midgley and Robert Wessels.
That number is expected to grow, however. And some of the late entrants could upend the Republican field given their name recognition and access to donors.
Perhaps the most intriguing potential entrant is Jonathan Bush.
He’s the nephew of the late President George H.W. Bush, which makes him the cousin of former President George W. Bush and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. While the Bush name may not have as much resonance in today’s Trump-dominated GOP, the Bushes are still a political dynasty with significant ties to Maine because of the family compound on Walker’s Point in Kennebunkport.
Jonathan Bush, a health care executive who lives in Cape Elizabeth, has created an “exploratory committee” for a potential gubernatorial bid. But as the Bangor Daily News reported this week, the fact that George W. and Jeb recently held a private fundraiser for their cuz at Walker’s Point “all but confirms Jonathan Bush will eventually enter the race.”
If he does enter the race, Bush could be attractive to less MAGA-ish Republicans given the affection that some moderates and old-school, pre-Trump conservatives have for the Bush political legacy. His focus on business and economic issues, rather than culture war issues, could also resonate with independents who can participate in party primaries under Maine’s still relatively new “semi-open primary” process.
One other potential contender that could shake up the GOP primary race (albeit from a different wing of the party) is Rep. Laurel Libby. A state lawmaker from Auburn, Libby has been one of Maine’s most vocal and visible conservative cultural warriors on issues from transgender athletes to vaccinations and abortion.
Libby sparked the current fight between Maine and the White House over transgender athletes with her viral Facebook post about a trans athlete who won a girls track championship. And she’s made innumerable appearances on Fox News and in conservative media and podcasts since then, both on the issue of transgender athletes and her fight to regain her voting and speaking privileges on the Maine House floor.
Libby said recently that she’s still weighing her options.
While she has previously failed to win enough support from her GOP colleagues to secure a leadership post in the House, her stature among conservatives and evangelical Christian voters has likely risen amid the fights over trans athletes and abortion. She recently reported a record haul of $137,000 for her legislative campaign. And two political action committees connected to Libby, Dinner Table Action and For Our Future, are among the most prolific fundraisers in Maine.
Democratic field appears (mostly) set
On the other side of the aisle, meanwhile, the Democratic primary competition appears largely set.
The most robust campaigns so far are being waged by Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, former Senate President Troy Jackson, businessman Angus King III (the son of Sen. Angus King) and former House Speaker Hannah Pingree. Two other candidates, Jason Cherry and Kenneth Pinet, have also filed candidacy paperwork with the state.
With the primary 10 months away, there’s still time for additional candidates to emerge. Three independents have also announced gubernatorial campaigns: state Sen. Rick Bennett, John Glowa and Alexander Kenneth Murchison.
Delegation’s varied response to DC takeover
The four members of Maine’s congressional delegation had four very different reactions this week to President Trump’s federal takeover of the Washington, D.C., police force. Those nuanced responses mirrored, in many ways, how each member is choosing to interact with a White House constantly pushing the bounds of executive power.
Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree and independent Sen. King were the most critical of Trump’s plan and his exaggerated rhetoric about crime in the nation’s capital.
“The President’s decision to take over the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and deploy National Guard troops to the streets of our nation’s capital is incredibly alarming — and ignores the reality of what’s actually happening in the city,” said Pingree, who represents Maine’s left-leaning 1st District. “Violent crime is at a 30-year low, and down 26% this year alone. That’s not to say crime isn’t an issue. But militarizing the city in such a sudden and aggressive way isn’t going to solve the problem.”
Pingree also called Trump’s threat to deploy federal troops to other U.S. cities “a dangerous abuse of power (that) underscores the increasingly authoritarian impulses of this administration.”
King, who caucuses with the Democrats, also accused Trump of “deciding that reality and stats aren’t fitting his personal narrative” by ignoring the recent drop in violent crime in D.C.
“This is one more example of this President asserting powers he does not have – the governing of the District is explicitly granted to Congress in the Constitution – and unnecessarily deploying the military in domestic law enforcement which should never be done except in the most extreme circumstances,” King said.
Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, both of whom are facing tough reelection campaigns next year, steered clear of criticizing Trump’s D.C. takeover.
Collins said D.C. has struggled with crime and “vagrancy” since the COVID pandemic.
“Most people who live in DC have been directly or indirectly affected by this including members of my staff,” Collins said. “I agree with the President that this is a problem and that additional resources are needed to address it.”
Collins urged Trump to work closely with D.C.’s mayor while cautioning the administration against “taking too significant a long-term role with the DC police department.”
Golden, a Democrat in an increasingly right-leaning 2nd District, has supported giving D.C. full statehood in the past. But Golden said the law allows presidents to “nationalize DC’s local police under certain conditions.”
“If there is a disagreement between the president and leaders in DC about whether those conditions have been met, it will be up to the courts to decide,” Golden said. “For my part, I’ll say that in my time in DC, I’ve come to respect the service-oriented professionalism of both the Metropolitan Police and the DC National Guard and am confident in their abilities regardless of how this ongoing development unfolds.”
Maine's Political Pulse was written this week by State House bureau chief Steve Mistler and State House correspondent Kevin Miller, and produced by news editor Andrew Catalina. Read past editions or listen to the Political Pulse podcast at mainepublic.org/pulse.
