What I'm hearing

🔭 These slightly sneaky organizations play a role in the governor's race.  

◉ Former Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree left her job as head of Gov. Janet Mills' policy office on May 15. She was radio silent until nearly a month later, when she announced her widely expected campaign for the 2026 Democratic gubernatorial nod.

◉ However, I missed something. On May 16, Pingree's exploratory committee registered as a nonprofit in Maine. This allowed her to raise an unlimited amount of money that would not have to be disclosed until she declared as a candidate. If she never ran, it would never have to be reported.

◉ Pingree had a hush-hush exploratory committee that helped her raise $525,000 in the early days of her race. Entrepreneur Owen McCarthy, a Republican candidate, used a similar formulation for his committee but announced it publicly to get some media attention before officially declaring. Former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson also had an exploratory committee before getting into the Democratic race.

◉ The use of these entities is important because they offer candidates a head start in a 2026 race that features no clear frontrunner and has a lot of candidates jockeying for position. There will be more exploratory work over the summer. (I'm expecting significant movement on the Republican side.)

◉ Maine used to have a legal framework for those who are "testing the waters" before running. But it hasn't had one in more than 30 years. The Maine Ethics Commission noted that in a 2010 guide for candidates. But the agency gave 2022 candidates a more fulsome explanation of what exactly that allows.

◉ Candidates are allowed to spend as much of their own money as they want to explore running. They can also take contributions up to the campaign maximums from donors. When they run, all of it has to be disclosed. This basically mirrors the rules on what candidates for federal office can do.

◉ Reading between the lines of the commission's rules, certain kinds of expenses would be more kosher than others. For example, polling is more exploratory than traveling the state for eye-catching public events. People who run too public of a campaign would probably draw an ethics complaint.

◉ This is all above board. But it is still a bit of a loophole that allows candidates to campaign before they "campaign." You could also see people staying in this phase for extended periods of time to avoid reporting their fundraising. However, it behooves most who are actually running to get out of this phase quickly.

Reading list

🤷 Sen. Susan Collins starts lining up money for Maine that may not arrive.

What they're saying: Earmarks are threatened by the possibility of a second consecutive continuing resolution. The senator's office said it's too early to project what will happen next, while a spokesperson for Sen. Angus King said his aides "don’t know that anything will come" of the latest requests.

📰 From the Portland Press Herald: Former students allege abuse and neglect at the Hyde School in Bath.

Learn more: One of them sued the private school Friday in federal court. The lawsuit alleges emotional abuse and forced labor, seeking class-action status for dozens of students. The school and the Gauld family that runs it have denied the allegations.

🥫 This Maine tourism mecca has an almost invisible homelessness problem.

🗑️ The Bangor area's embattled trash plant could close if a judge freezes funding.

🎸 The former girlfriend of John Lennon is showing her photos of him in Maine.

💬 New BDN rural politics reporter Daniel O'Connor wants to talk to you.

✉️ This mail boat will take you on a puffin tour.

On the move