Robert J. Wessels: Difference between revisions
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< | ==Biography== | ||
Robert J. Wessels' career experience includes working as a businessman. He earned a bachelor's degree from the Moody Bible Institute in 2001 and an M.D. from the University of Arizona in 2022.<ref>''Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on December 20, 2025''</ref> | |||
==Elections== | ==Elections== | ||
Revision as of 17:13, 22 December 2025
Robert J. Wessels (Republican Party) is running for election for Governor of Maine. He declared candidacy for the Republican primary scheduled on June 9, 2026.
Wessels completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Robert J. Wessels' career experience includes working as a businessman. He earned a bachelor's degree from the Moody Bible Institute in 2001 and an M.D. from the University of Arizona in 2022.[1]
Elections
2026
See also: Maine gubernatorial election, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on June 9, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. Additional general election candidates will be added here following the primary.
General election for Governor of Maine
Richard Bennett, W. Edward Crockett, John Glowa, Derek Levasseur, and Alexander Murchison are running in the general election for Governor of Maine on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Richard Bennett (Independent) | |
 | W. Edward Crockett (Independent) | |
 | John Glowa (Independent)  | |
| Derek Levasseur (Independent) | ||
 | Alexander Murchison (Independent) | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Governor of Maine
The following candidates are running in the Democratic primary for Governor of Maine on June 9, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Shenna Bellows | |
 | Jason Cherry | |
 | Kenneth Forrest Pinet | |
 | Troy Dale Jackson | |
 | Angus King III | |
 | Hannah Pingree | |
 | Nirav Shah | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Governor of Maine
The following candidates are running in the Republican primary for Governor of Maine on June 9, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Jonathan Bush | |
| Ken A. Capron | ||
 | Bobby Charles | |
| David Foster | ||
 | David Jones | |
 | James Libby | |
 | Garrett Mason | |
 | Owen McCarthy | |
| Ben Midgley | ||
 | Steven Sheppard | |
 | Robert J. Wessels | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Maria Aguilo (R)
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Robert J. Wessels completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Wessels' responses.
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My wife, Christie, and I got married in South Paris in 2001. We have three amazing young adult children. Our two sons have graduated, and our daughter will be graduating from high school in 2027. I am a businessman, having started my retail career stocking shelves during overnight shifts. I have been a store manager for the past 14 years. Although I have earned my MBA, I believe that spending the last 20 years in the school of hard knocks has best prepared me for the job of Governor.
I have spent the last 18 years teaching personal finance and budgeting courses in the Oxford Hills community, helping hundreds learn how to navigate through life's difficult financial places. I also spent 4 years as Selectman for the Town of Paris. That is the extent of my political experience. I am not an establishment candidate or part of Maine's political elite.
- I have spent the last two years traveling across the state of Maine and talking with thousands upon thousands of everyday Mainers. The economy is always the first issue that comes up. Maine has some of the highest energy costs in the nation, we are among the highest-taxed states, and our housing prices are skyrocketing. My grown children are worried about being able to afford an apartment. We must shrink the size of our government to lower costs and reduce taxes. We need a new perspective and approach to energy in the state, as demand will only continue to increase in the coming years. We must also remove unnecessary regulations to attract more businesses (and jobs) and to lower the costs of building and housing in Maine.
- We need to take back our government. Maine's government is running amok and doing whatever it wants — this is not how our system was designed to operate. Bureaucracies are often running the show, and our legislators and governor are acting without accountability. Maine needs a dedicated group to do a deep dive into how our government is operating and what we are spending our money on. We must root out all corruption and hold the corrupt accountable. We need to identify all instances of mismanagement — whether intentional or unintentional — and put an end to it. We must leverage technology to create efficiencies and make each department more effective, using fewer resources. All of these savings must be turned into LOWER TAXES!
- The only way to be successful long-term as a state is to have successful schools — and right now, we don’t. In the 1990s, Maine was among the top in the nation, but we have fallen near the bottom (or to the bottom, depending on the report). This is unacceptable — our children are our future. Our public schools are currently being micromanaged from Augusta. We need to shift decision-making authority back to the districts. We also need to create a competitive environment by allowing school choice and ensuring easy access to non-public school options. Competition is a key driver of success in the business world, and with competition among our schools, parents and students will be the winners. Maine will WIN!
Our state budget has exploded over the past seven years, growing by almost 60% since Governor Mills took office. I have spent my life creating budgets and helping people live within their means. It won’t be easy, but I am passionate about getting our spending under control and returning money to Maine taxpayers.
Money returned to the people will help reinvigorate our economy, create jobs, and make life livable again. I am committed to making decisions that benefit all Mainers — not just specific demographics.
Money returned to the people will help reinvigorate our economy, create jobs, and make life livable again. I am committed to making decisions that benefit all Mainers — not just specific demographics.
"The Road to Serfdom" by F. A. Hayek
Integrity, transparency, and honesty.
We need someone willing to fight corruption, no matter the personal cost. We need someone who will stand for what is right, even if they are the only person on that side. I believe I will do both of those. Additionally, we need someone who is business-minded to put our needs before our wants. This is how I live my life, and how I will live in the Blaine house.
To uphold the constitution and to ensure that the government stays in check.
I want to leave a legacy that honors Christ in all that I do; that I was fair to both parties and made decisions with integrity.
The writing of the budget.
The governor should submit a zero-based, balanced budget built around needs to the legislature. Clear priorities. This will then be voted on by the legislature; if the budget is bloated, the governor should veto it. Once the budget is enacted, the governor is responsible for execution and enforcement:
My philosophy is simple: use it transparently and only to protect taxpayers.
It is the relationship of two equal co-workers that require the other one to be successful, they have two different jobs to accomplish, but the same ultimate goal and purpose...to take the state to a better place FOR THE PEOPLE that put them there. The principle of the "separation of powers" is a beautiful concept in American government.
I love: The natural beauty of the state...the ocean, the mountains, the fields, the lakes, the woods. The authentic people. The rugged independence. The determined innovation. The hard-working, can-do mentality of so many.
Our government continues to grow, increasing the costs to the citizens and making almost half the people dependent on the government. If this pattern continues, we will not be able to afford. Those paying ridiculously high taxes will leave the state for a more reasonable one and it will continue our current downward spiral until it is too late.
As we saw with Governor Mills during covid, the current system is too easy to be abused. We must make it harder to have long-term emergency powers.
Local people endorse me; you can go to my website at voterobertwessels.com to see them!
I would love to eventually create a state budget that allows the people of Maine to not only EASILY see what was budgeted for each category, but to see what the state has currently spent in each category. Maybe we could use blockchain to make this happen?
I believe that the current system makes it extremely easy to overturn laws, which can be both good and bad. The issue is that a special interest group can spend vast sums to get something on the ballot, and people are not made sufficiently aware of the problem until it is too late. I would propose to move the bar to a 55% or 60% majority.
This means that the buck stops there. In the event of any issues or failures, the governor must hold those responsible (or himself) accountable for these problems. This also means the governor has a significant responsibility for ensuring the law is upheld and administered.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on December 20, 2025
