Maine GOP Nominee's Sister Backs Democratic Rival

The sister of Maine's Republican nominee for governor says she is voting for his Democratic opponent — and she wrote it up for the state's largest newspaper.

Anita Charles, a Lewiston resident and longtime educator, published an opinion piece in the Portland Press Herald on Wednesday saying she will vote for Democrat Hannah Pingree instead of her brother, Republican gubernatorial nominee Bobby Charles.

She wrote that she and her brother "have never agreed politically" and had managed those differences with "civility" for most of their adult lives, but that divisive rhetoric had become central to his campaign.

"Those lessons shaped my entire life, as well as my career," she wrote of their mother's teaching about treating people with dignity. "They are also the reason I cannot support my brother's campaign for governor."

Her Objections

Anita Charles said she opposes her brother's education platform and his comments about Maine's public schools. Bobby Charles, a former Washington lobbyist, backs a Republican agenda that expands parental involvement in curriculum and ends diversity, equity and inclusion programs in schools — a plan he calls "no-nonsense."

"I do not believe Bobby has set foot in a public school since he was 18," she wrote. "He has not witnessed what Maine educators do every day, yet he speaks with false certainty about what is wrong with our schools. He's a D.C. lobbyist who spent more than 30 years in Washington."

She also wrote that she was the victim of sexual violence by an adult as a child — something she said her brother has known for more than 50 years — and cited his relationship with former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who admitted to sexually abusing teenage boys and covering it up. She said her brother's position on abortion is difficult for her to accept as a victim of sexual assault. Bobby Charles has called himself "unapologetically pro-life."