Abigail Hebert

On Sunday, Sen. Angus King endorsed Democratic gubernatorial nominee Hannah Pingree in a town hall conversation hosted by the Bowdoin College Democrats.

The endorsement came three months after Pingree’s victory in the Democratic primary, when King’s son, Angus King III, was eliminated in the first round of ranked-choice voting. King explained that while Pingree was his second choice in the primary, he views her as the best candidate for Maine this November.

“Vote for Hannah!” King said to the packed auditorium, where his words were met with a standing ovation.

King noted that Pingree first earned his support more than a decade ago, after her time as Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, when he told her he would back her if she ever ran for governor.

“She has a rare combination of competence, toughness, intellect and caring,” King said. “I think she’ll be a great governor of Maine.”

In an interview with the Orient, Pingree reflected on her appreciation for King.

“I am deeply honored by Senator King’s endorsement,” Pingree said. “I’ve admired his leadership. I think Maine people appreciate how much he’s done for Maine. He was a governor who really brought people together.”

During the event, Pingree asked King a series of questions on issues facing Maine voters, placing him in the predominant speaking role. The pair spoke at length about a variety of issues, including challenges within the aging state such as education, energy, housing and healthcare, and on the governor’s role in shielding Maine residents from federal policy under the Trump Administration.

“Governors are going to be on the front line because a lot of what’s going on is shifting responsibilities to the states, and the states are going to have to step up,” King said. “It’s not going to be easy.”

Pingree forecasted what this shift would demand of Maine.

“We are going to be facing a real crisis when it comes to funding healthcare in the state of Maine because of the huge cuts that have been made at the federal level in Medicaid and Medicare—add on top of that cuts to food programs for kids [and] cuts to clean energy programs,” Pingree said to the Orient. “It’s not going to be an easy time. I certainly think that it is essential that the governor works [with] the federal delegation to fight for Maine.”

Reflecting more broadly on the event, Pingree said the choice of format was an effort to spotlight key policy issues in her own personal style.

“I actually hosted a public television show for a couple of years, and I love interviewing people, so the idea was more of a conversation on the policy areas that really matter, especially in a governor’s race,” Pingree said.

Jenna Pfueller, who serves as the communications manager for Gov. Janet Mills’ Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, which Pingree led prior to her gubernatorial bid, felt the conversation was productive.

“I thought a lot of things kind of came up naturally in the conversation that are really important to be discussing right now [like] AI [and] housing, and it was just a really great way to get to know the issues and how they relate both on the state level and the federal level and how they’re intertwined,” Pfueller said.

Cynthia and Joseph Yarmala from Bowdoinham, ME, who identified themselves as moderates, explained their support for Pingree to the Orient.

“[There is] a very strong feeling that progress needs to be made,” Joseph Yarmala said. “The only way that we’re going to get some progress made is by getting some young new people in there that are willing to work on both sides of the aisle … We would love to see change. And right now, that change is with the Democratic Party.”

Mardy Novak ’27 commented on the importance of hosting political events on campus.

“It’s exciting, and it gets you more connected to the outside world beyond the Bowdoin bubble; I think it’s very easy here to kind of forget about the fact that we’re heavily affected by the politics around us,” Novak said.

Despite a full house at the event, student attendance did not meet Novak’s expectations.

“I would have liked to see more people from the school show up, but I also think a governor’s race is probably going to impact the people that are living in Maine full time a little more than students,” Novak said. “It is still cool that that conversation happened in a campus space.”

Pingree ended her conversation with the Orient by emphasizing the importance of the upcoming election.

“Bowdoin students, we love you and need you. Consider staying in Maine. Thank you for considering voting in this upcoming 2026 election.… This election is a crucial and urgent election for our democracy,” Pingree said. “And whether you care about climate, you care about the future of democracy and having a check on President Trump or [you care about] economic opportunity in Maine, I would be deeply honored by your vote.”

Pingree will face Republican Bobby Charles and Independent Rick Bennett on November 3.