2026 Primary Election Report | Maine Conservation Voters Action Fund

DATE: Wednesday, June 10, 2026

CONTACT: Rani Sheaffer | (207) 620-8811 | rani@maineconservation.org
Dan Jenkins | (207) 577-1406 | dan@maineconservation.org 

2026 Primary Election Report | Maine Conservation Voters Action Fund

MCV Action Fund stepped up in a significant way with an independent expenditure campaign to help elect Hannah Pingree in the Democratic Primary spending just over $850,000, one of the largest investments in the race. This level of investment reflects our organization’s deep commitment to fighting for leaders prepared to take on the challenges ahead. Rising costs, more frequent and extreme weather events, and the failed leadership in Washington all require a governor who can lead with clarity, conviction, and strength. Hannah Pingree is that leader.

“Maine deserves leadership that looks ahead with confidence and vision. We need someone with the experience to advocate for all Mainers, tackle rising energy costs, ensure utilities are held accountable, and take on greedy corporations when they put profits ahead of people,” said Rani Sheaffer, Deputy Director Maine Conservation Voters Action Fund.

Pingree’s record:

• Hannah, more so than any other candidate, has put the protection of the environment and climate action at the top of her priorities. She has years of proven leadership, experience, and an unwavering commitment to protecting clean air and water and our children’s future.
• Hannah has a demonstrated record of standing up to special interests – like the chemical industry and Big Oil – and winning results for Maine families.
• Hannah has championed cost-saving climate and clean energy solutions, like heat pumps, to put money back in the pockets of Maine families and businesses.
• Hannah has the guts, smarts, and the experience to stand up to the Trump administration and will fight for our climate, environment, and democracy.

Using research and data to guide our program, we layered various forms of communication to target likely Democratic primary voters with positive messages about Hannah over digital, cable, broadcast television, mail, and text based canvassing.

Top Lines:

• Digital Ads: We ran a robust digital program for two full months, placing targeted ads to a specific subset of Democratic voters most likely to support Hannah, particularly female voters. Part of our strategy was to get on digital early, acting as a bridge until the campaign’s paid communications started in earnest. Our ads included a 30 second ad Mainers Know, and five 15 second ads that highlighted Hannah’s healthcare plan, her plans to fight utility costs, the top reasons to vote for Hannah and highlighting her endorsement by Governor Mills.
• Broadcast Television and Cable Ads: Thanks to some strong end of the race fundraising, the final two ads, the Top Reasons to vote for Hannah, and one featuring her endorsement by the current governor, also ran during cable and broadcast programs, including local news programs, weekend news shows, the NBA finals, and Red Sox games on NESN.
• Direct Mail: our program sent four mail pieces to 82,000 households. These are the folks we know are most likely to vote in this election. It appears that only our program and the campaign of Angus King III sent any mail in the primary, providing Hannah with a boost that the nearest polling candidates did not have. Our mail pieces included a focus on Hannah’s experience winning for working families in Maine; her success in reducing medication costs for seniors; a creative comic book cover style piece showing her strength to take on rising costs and to stand up to the overreach of the Federal Administration; and a final piece highlighting her endorsement from Governor Mills, and readiness to lead on day one.
• Texting outreach: Our texting program started when data became available showing who had requested an absentee ballot, but had yet to return it. We chased ballots with 5 different text sends to voters who were receiving their ballots. Before Election Day we had sent over 22,000 texts to certain voters. This sort of targeted texting is extremely valuable as these are voters who will cast a vote and our message may be the one they see as they’re completing their ballot. On Election Day, we followed up by sending 125,000 texts to potential Democratic voters who had not yet cast a ballot. 

Moving Forward

“Making progress is only possible when we elect leaders who will put the health of our communities ahead of polluters. No matter the results, our work will continue, and we will be fully engaged in both the gubernatorial election, and crucially in electing a pro-environment majority in both chambers of the Maine State Legislature” said Dan Jenkins, Political Director Maine Conservation Voters Action Fund.

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