Paul LePage

Paul Richard LePage (; born October 9, 1948) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 74th governor of Maine from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the mayor of Waterville, Maine, from 2004 to 2011 and as a city councilor for Waterville from 1998 to 2002.

In 2010, LePage was elected governor, winning with 37% of the vote in a race with four major candidates. In 2014, he was re-elected in a less crowded election with 48% of the vote. During his tenure as governor, LePage made extensive use of his veto power, vetoing 652 bills as of July 2018 – more than all of Maine's governors over the previous 100 years combined. LePage was known for making controversial remarks on various issues. LePage was unable to seek re-election to a third term due to term limits laws in Maine, and was succeeded by Democrat Janet Mills. After initially retiring from politics, he mounted an unsuccessful bid for governor in 2022.

In 2025, LePage announced his candidacy for Maine's 2nd congressional district in 2026.

Early life and education LePage was born in Lewiston, Maine, on October 9, 1948. The eldest son of 18 children of Theresa (née Gagnon) and Gerard LePage, both of French Canadian descent, he grew up speaking French in an impoverished home with an abusive father who was a mill worker.

At age 11, after his father beat him and broke his nose, LePage ran away from home and lived on the streets of Lewiston. At times, he stayed in horse stables and at a strip joint. He was homeless for two years before two families took him in. and earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Maine in 1975. He subsequently worked for Scott Paper Company in Winslow, Maine. In 1996, he was hired as general manager of Marden's, a Maine-based discount retail chain.

Waterville City Council LePage entered local politics when he was elected to the Waterville City Council in 1997, serving until 2002. He was reelected to the council in 1999. LePage won the election with 40 percent of the vote.

LePage took office as mayor on January 6, 2004, succeeding Nelson Madore. As mayor, he implemented administrative reforms, reduced municipal taxes, and increased the city's reserve fund from $1 million to $10 million. During his tenure, he had policy disagreements with Democratic Governor John Baldacci on issues including immigration enforcement and state tax policy.

In 2008, LePage was reelected mayor, defeating Democratic challenger Rosemary Winslow by a margin of 51 percent to 49 percent. He resigned from the mayoral position in January 2011 upon taking office as governor.

Governor of Maine Elections 2010

Like previous governors, LePage resided in The Blaine House across from the State Capitol. On September 22, 2009, LePage announced that he would be seeking the 2010 Republican nomination for governor of Maine. John Morris, LePage's campaign chief-of-staff, credited LePage's win with a campaign strategy (devised by chief strategist Brent Littlefield) that he referred to as the "three onlys" theme before the June primary election. This theme focused on particular aspects of LePage's biography that supposedly set him apart from the other candidates. These were, according to Morris, LePage "was the only candidate who had a compelling life story... the only candidate who had a successful experience as a chief executive officer of a government entity... the only candidate who was the executive of a prosperous Maine business."

In the general election, LePage was backed by local Tea Party activists and faced Democratic state senator Libby Mitchell, and three independents – Eliot Cutler, Shawn Moody, and Kevin Scott. He received 48.2% of the vote.

2022

LePage unsuccessfully ran for a third non-consecutive term in 2022. LePage had previously indicated his interest in the 2022 election based on the implementation of Maine's Medicaid expansion referendum. On July 5, 2021, he officially announced his candidacy for governor. He was later endorsed by Maine's Republican U.S. Senator, Susan Collins. LePage faced no primary opposition, and was the Republican nominee to run against Mills in the November general election. His comments regarding women, African Americans, Native Americans, the poor, local colleges and universities, and government activities have generated headlines. At the beginning of his term as governor, he was criticized for refusing either to attend Martin Luther King Jr. Day events in Portland or Orono or to meet with Maine representatives of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), telling the press the group could "kiss my butt". He later drew negative publicity for urging any commission members who were not up to meeting the state's expectations to resign. His proposals were criticized by the Maine Education Association, Maine Democrats, and many college students attending school out of state who stated they did not experience the poor treatment LePage purported.

On July 8, 2012, LePage said, while discussing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was "the new Gestapo" due to their role in enforcing the law. Although LePage described the meeting as "cordial", the workers described it as pressuring and used to intimidate them to give more rulings on unemployment claim appeals in favor of businesses, as well as to state that they were doing their jobs poorly.

On May 23, 2013, LePage announced that he would move his office out of the Maine State Capitol and work from The Blaine House due to what he called efforts by majority Democrats in the Legislature to censor his speech.

LePage is known for his dislike of Maine newspapers, After a three-part report published by the Portland Press Herald, Kennebec Journal, and Morning Sentinel which alleged his Department of Environmental Protection commissioner was favoring former clients, he ordered his administration to not grant interviews to reporters of those newspapers or cooperate with their information requests. The order did not seem to extend to all state agencies, as the Department of Public Safety's spokesman said he had been given no such instructions. He said that the declaration was necessary in order to cope with the loss of federally funded positions during the shutdown, such as by transferring state-funded personnel to functions originally carried out by the federally funded personnel to minimize layoffs. His move to do so was met with widespread negative criticism, and was labeled as an unnecessary "overreach of power".

On June 30, 2014, the website Talking Points Memo reported that LePage had met eight times with members of the sovereign citizen movement between January and September 2013. According to participants, the sovereign citizens group used these meetings, some of which lasted nearly three hours, to inform LePage of their beliefs, which include assertions that the U.S. dollar and Maine state courts are illegal, that Maine Senate President Justin Alfond and Maine House Speaker Mark Eves are guilty of treason and should be executed, and that the U.S. government and the United Nations are planning for a war against Americans. LePage set up a meeting between Kennebec County sheriff Randall Liberty and the sovereign citizens group and asked Liberty to take the group's concerns to the state attorney general.

As governor, LePage attempted to roll back child labor laws, proposing a $5.25 subminimum wage. He also proposed that children aged 12 and up should be able to work. In a speech at the 73rd annual Maine Agricultural Trades Show, he stated his view supporting child labor adding "If the revenues go up, I can go golfing. If not, I'm going to have to continue working 80 hours a week."

As Governor, LePage issued 642 vetoes, which broke the record of 118 set by Governor James B. Longley and was more than all his predecessors since 1917 combined. Most of LePage's vetoes were issued after Democrats regained control of the Legislature from the Republicans in 2013.

In the 2015 session of the Legislature, LePage promised to veto every bill sponsored by a Democrat, regardless of its merits, in retaliation for the rejection of his proposal for a constitutional amendment referendum to eliminate Maine's income tax. LePage later expanded his veto threat to all bills sponsored by all legislators in order to force needing a 2/3 vote on them for passage. He stated that he feels it is the only way he can "get the most representation that I can for the people of the state of Maine" and that Democrats had convinced Republicans to sponsor bills to get around his initial veto threat.

In June 2015, Good Will-Hinckley, a charitable organization for at-risk youths that runs two charter schools, hired Democratic House Speaker Mark Eves to be their next president. LePage, however, threatened to withhold $500,000 of state funding for the school if they hired Eves, due to his voting record against charter schools in Maine. LePage's choice to do so was labeled as "blackmail" as well as "political interference". The incident was subject to a federal investigation, but no charges were issued. Some Democrats in the Legislature launched an effort to impeach LePage over this and other matters on January 14, 2016, but the effort was indefinitely postponed, effectively killing it, on a 96–52 vote.

LePage initially endorsed Chris Christie for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. After Christie ended his campaign, LePage endorsed Donald Trump. Earlier in February, LePage had urged Republican governors to draft an open letter "to the people" disavowing Trump and his politics.

Abortion LePage opposes abortion. He has appeared at the annual anti-abortion Hands Around the Capitol rally at the Maine State House, first doing so at the 2011 event.

Campaign financing LePage is opposed to the Maine Clean Elections Act, which provides funding for publicly-financed campaigns in Maine without prohibiting private campaign contributions. He proposed eliminating all funding for the act in his 2014–2015 biennial budget

Capital punishment LePage supports the death penalty in cases of the murder of a baby. He stated this view regarding the case of Ethan Henderson, a 10-week-old baby who was allegedly killed by his father.

Drug policy LePage supports the idea of the state removing the children of welfare recipients from their homes if the recipients are found to be using illegal drugs and refuse to enter rehab. Current law allows the removal of children only due to neglect and abuse, which can result from drug use, but is not drug use itself.

LePage has expressed opposition to the legalization of marijuana, seeing it as a gateway to more powerful drugs like heroin, but has said that if legalization were approved by referendum, he would honor it.

LePage has called for additional Maine DEA agents, judges, and prosecutors to fight drugs. The Maine Legislature approved six additional agents, two prosecutors, and two judges in the 2015–16 state budget, but LePage criticized that as "chump change" and has asked for more. He has criticized legislative Democrats skeptical of his proposals, stating "If I didn't know better, I was a real cynic, I'd think that the Democrats like drug dealers." He has stated he would use the Maine National Guard for drug enforcement if necessary, and has actually done so. He further called for drug traffickers to be put in "super-max" facilities. He has also said, "Everybody in Maine, we have constitutional carry, load up and get rid of the drug dealers," which he clarified meant that an environment should be created that will keep drug dealers away from Maine, not that people should engage in vigilantism. In an interview with Downeast Magazine, he stated that "I'm all for not allowing a 12-year-old to work 40 hours, but a 12-year-old working eight to 10 hours a week or a 14-year-old working 12 to 15 hours a week is not bad." Citing his own experiences working at that age, he said that these hours should be permitted as it would instill a healthy work ethic in children. LePage has proposed allowing businesses to pay child workers a training wage of $5.25 an hour, loosening time-based requirements for children working during the school year, and streamlining the process for children to obtain a work permit by removing school superintendents from the process in the summer, all of which did not pass the Legislature.

LePage opposes the expansion of casino gambling in Maine, believing that any economic benefit to additional casinos would come at the expense of Maine's existing casinos. LePage has also said that if he was sent a bill to abolish the Maine State Lottery, he would sign it, saying it "absolutely" targets the poor.

LePage has vetoed at least one bill for increasing Maine's minimum wage, believing that wages should be increased by creating an environment for higher-paying jobs in Maine through lowering energy costs and lowering taxes. He has supported preventing municipalities like Portland from having local minimum wages higher than the state's. In response to a citizen initiated referendum to raise Maine's minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2020, he stated that he supported a competing proposal to raise it to $10 an hour as less harmful to businesses who would have to pay the full minimum wage to tipped employees under the referendum.

Education

LePage supported a school voucher system and structuring pay to reward teachers for performance. He has stated that curriculum should be determined by local school boards.

LePage signed a bill to bring Maine in alignment with the Common Core State Standards Initiative on April 1, 2011, making the state the 42nd to do so. By 2013, however, LePage expressed opposition to the standards, citing fears of a federal takeover of education and student privacy concerns. On September 4, he issued an executive order prohibiting the Maine Department of Education from implementing any federal education standards, from applying for grants where implementing such standards is a condition of the grant, and from sharing personal student information with the federal government.

On November 18, 2013, LePage pledged $10,000 from his official contingency account to a program run by Portland-based LearningWorks for helping new immigrants learn the English language. LePage met with Somali immigrants in Lewiston to make the announcement, and discussed other difficulties immigrants had in obtaining education and employment, which LePage related to given his life with French as his first language.

Environment LePage rejects the overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change, which states that climate change is dangerous and primarily human-caused. According to Democratic state senator Brownie Carson, during LePage's time in office "he not only didn't care about the environment, he was actively hostile toward it". LePage supported increased use of fossil fuels, vetoed clean energy bills, sought to eliminate environmental regulations, was the lone Atlantic coast governor to promote offshore drilling, refused to issue voter-approved conservation bonds, attempted to tax protected forestland and/or open it to development, and refused to put up signs to direct tourists to the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument designated by former president Barack Obama.

Energy LePage has criticized wind power and in particular the large-scale expansion of installed capacity mandated by Maine's 2008 Wind Energy Act and wind energy's large role in the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard. LePage argues that the policies are a major cause of the relatively high cost per kW of electricity in Maine—34% above the national average.

LePage believes that government policies should consider the effect of greenhouse gases, but opposes regulations. He has said he would support shallow-water offshore drilling in Maine waters, but not deep-water drilling, which he considers more hazardous. In June 2012, LePage criticized the removal of the Great Works dam on the Penobscot River in Old Town to enhance the migration of fish in the river, despite the project leading to no loss of electricity generation, calling the removal of hydroelectric dams in general "irresponsible". In the same report, He cited former longtime Democratic House Speaker John Martin as an example of how an experienced legislator would be beneficial for Maine.

LePage has been critical of Maine's citizen initiative process, by which citizens can put an issue to referendum, stating that the process should be reformed to return to a "representative government" and that Mainers don't understand what they are voting for on referendum questions. He has expressed support for requiring petition signatures to be gathered in each Maine county and for requiring a greater total number of signatures to qualify an issue for the ballot.

LePage was opposed to efforts to change Maine's voting system from plurality voting to ranked choice voting, even though it was ruled unconstitutional with regards to elections to state offices.

Health care LePage called for repeal of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, saying he believes it is unconstitutional, and had encouraged Maine's attorney general William Schneider to join the federal lawsuit by other state attorneys general challenging the bill. Upon the United States Supreme Court's ruling upholding the majority of the act, LePage stated that the law was an "enormous tax" and that "Washington, D.C., now has the power to dictate how we, as Americans, live our lives." and has criticized efforts by the Legislature to write an expansion bill that will obtain enough votes to override a veto, stating that the Legislature has "no compassion".

On July 3, 2013, LePage pledged $50,000 of his emergency fund to a drug treatment center in Ellsworth. The Open Door Recovery Center provides treatment for clients regardless of their ability to pay.

LePage has stated that he feels there are too many hospitals in Maine, noting that New Hampshire's 1.3 million people have 26 hospitals, while Maine's 1.2 million have 39.

In March 2014, LePage drew national attention related to his opposition to a bill that would allow caregivers, health care professionals and more emergency responders to administer naloxone, a drug which has been used for many years as an antidote for drug overdoses, saying it could raise Medicaid costs and encourage drug addiction. Recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), naloxone was formulated to be used both for opioid drug overdoses and for people who have life-threatening drug interactions. Speaking in a statement at the announcement of the approval, the FDA commissioner said that drug overdose deaths are the leading cause of injury death in the United States, largely due to prescription drug overdoses. LePage vetoed a similar bill in 2013. In an interview LePage stated, "I think we need to treat, Let's deal with the treatment, the proper treatment and not say, Go overdose, and oh, by the way, if you do I'll be there to save you. I think we need to deal with the bigger, basic problem of drug addiction, drug trafficking and drug abuse in the state. That's all I'm interested in."

During his tenure as governor, LePage vetoed Medicaid expansion six times. After voters approved a 2017 referendum for expanding Medicaid coverage, LePage refused to implement the program, citing a lack of funding, and expansion advocates sued LePage in response. LePage has said he would rather go to jail than implement the expansion without a funding mechanism that meets his criteria.

Immigration Governor LePage is opposed to offering a home for asylum seekers in Maine. In a February 2016 town meeting he called asylum seekers "the biggest problem in our state". It is his opinion that "they're bringing hepatitis C, tuberculosis, AIDS, HIV and the 'ziki fly'," apparently referring to the Zika virus.

LGBT rights In 2009, LePage opposed allowing same-sex couples to marry. He does support the state recognizing only civil unions of all couples, believing it would give everyone the same legal standing. The next year, the bill was signed into law by LePage's successor, Governor Janet Mills.

Pardon power use

While governor, LePage issued 236 pardons to 115 people. One of his last acts as governor was to pardon former Republican state representative Jeffrey Pierce for a felony drug trafficking conviction 35 years prior. Pierce lost his reelection effort after Democrats discussed his felony conviction during the campaign and he then conceded that he had used firearms to hunt after his felony conviction, which would be illegal for a felon. Hunting license applications also ask the applicant if they have been convicted of a crime. The matter was being investigated by the Maine Warden Service, an investigation that the pardon may affect. The pardon generated controversy when it was revealed it was granted against the advice of Maine's clemency board. Further information is restricted due to state law making information related to pardons confidential. The Associated Press, through a public records request, learned that Pierce's pardon as well as a pardon for the grandson of LePage's late mentor were given without a public hearing and consultation with the clemency board. A former clemency board chair stated that in their 27 years on the board they never saw a governor grant a pardon without a public hearing.

During LePage's tenure as governor, Maine enacted a change in the voting system from plurality voting to ranked-choice voting. Maine had a history of independent candidates running and being competitive in elections, which gave rise to strategic voting and concerns over spoiler candidates. LePage's wins in 2010 and 2014, both times with a plurality, not majority, of the vote, and his unpopular tenure, has been cited as a primary motivating factor for the change in voting systems. The shift from plurality voting to ranked-choice voting was approved by voters in a 2016 ballot referendum. LePage opposed the change in voting systems.

In February 2019, the Portland Press Herald reported that LePage and his staff had spent at least $22,000 of tax-payer money to stay at the Trump International Hotel in Washington D.C., a luxury hotel owned by President Trump's family. During his last two years in office, LePage and his staff spent approximately $170,000 in out-of-state travel. In comparison, LePage's predecessor, Governor John Baldacci, spent approximately $45,000 during the last two years of his tenure.

Starting in 2015, LePage stated he was "very strongly" considering entering the 2018 U.S. Senate race against incumbent independent Senator Angus King, citing King's caucusing with Senate Democrats. He was also critical of King for switching his 2014 gubernatorial election endorsement from independent candidate Eliot Cutler to Democratic nominee Mike Michaud. He has also said that he would not run if Hillary Clinton won the 2016 presidential election, saying "If it's Hillary Clinton, forget it, I'm gonna retire." He has also said that Ann LePage was not convinced that a Senate run is the best idea, and he would not run if she did not approve, or if he was serving in a Donald Trump administration. He ultimately announced on May 10, 2017, that he would not run, preferring to focus on being governor.

Race LePage generated national headlines by stating at a January 6, 2016, town hall meeting in Bridgton regarding drug dealers:

(Drug dealers) are guys with the name D-Money, Smoothie, Shifty; these types of guys, they come from Connecticut and New York, they come up here, they sell their heroin, they go back home. Incidentally, half the time they impregnate a young, white girl before they leave, which is a real sad thing because then we have another issue we have to deal with down the road.

The comment was condemned as racist by some Republicans and Democrats, as well as the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton. A spokesman for LePage denied the comment had anything to do with race.

The following day, a reporter insinuated to LePage that Democratic state representative Drew Gattine had called him a racist.

He later invited reporters from the Portland Press Herald and WMTW to an interview to explain the comments, saying that

I wish it were 1825 and we would have a duel, that's how angry I am, and I would not put my gun in the air, I guarantee you ... I would point it right between his eyes, because he is a snot-nosed little runt and he has not done a damn thing since he's been in this legislature to help move the state forward. LePage produced a binder of drug arrestees and went through some of the mugshots with the press. While admitting that the binder contained photos of both blacks and whites, LePage produced a page with a photo and press clipping of a young white woman who had been arrested, LePage called her a "very lovely young Mainer, maybe 20 years old." He then held up another page with a picture of a black man on it and said, "That's the other culprit." Reporting on the incident, Portland Press Herald quoted figures showing that according to the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Service, in 2014 of the 1,211 people in Maine arrested on charges of drug sales or manufacturing only 14.1 percent were black, and almost all the rest were white. LePage's comments were widely condemned by Democrats and some Republicans, including U.S. Senator Susan Collins, State Senate President Michael Thibodeau, State House Minority Leader Kenneth Fredette, State Senator Roger Katz, and State Senator David Woodsome. He opposed one bipartisan plan to replace the current progressive income tax rates, which have a top rate of 7.95%, with a 4% flat income tax rate and a broader, higher sales tax because he believes it is not revenue-neutral. which he later proposed in his 2015–2016 budget. Those changes include dropping 5,000 to 6,000 low-income senior citizens with disabilities from the Drugs for the Elderly program (which provides low-cost prescription drugs to low-income elderly patients), and ending Medicaid coverage for up to 65,000 recipients, including many who are disabled or elderly. The changes could also result in higher premiums and higher co-pays for people with private health insurance. It is uncertain where LePage obtained his figures since Maine's unemployment rate is actually below the national average. According to an analysis posted on PolitiFact, only about ten percent of "able-bodied people" age 18 to 64 in Maine were not working, and if unemployed Maine residents who were looking for work were excluded from the count, the number not working drops to 3.6 percent. Pointing to a report issued by a conservative think tank, the Maine Heritage Policy Center, LePage's spokeswoman, Adrienne Bennett, said, "Liberal activists are determined to increase the number of residents who take tax dollars by expanding the size of government and the benefits government workers get and increasing the welfare rolls."

LePage supports reforms in how EBT cards are used. Proposals he favors include putting photos of cardholders on the card to prevent their sale by the holder, an idea that he proposed after hearing of several incidents where EBT cards turned up in drug busts. He also wants to better prohibit their use to purchase alcohol or cigarettes. He has stated that such fraud is a large problem and he will devote resources to investigating it and generating further proposals to combat it. He has also suggested that he would be willing to shut down the entire EBT program if the federal government will not allow Maine to take measures to combat fraud.

LePage is opposed to the distribution of General Assistance welfare funds to illegal immigrants by municipalities. He has threatened to cut off all state reimbursement of such funds unless municipalities stop doing so, citing federal laws which don't allow welfare funds to go to illegal immigrants unless a state passes a law to specifically allow it. Maine Attorney General Janet Mills has stated that the governor implementing such a policy without using the established rulemaking process or legislative action is likely against the Maine Constitution. LePage responded to that criticism by stating he found it "inexcusable" that the state's top law enforcement official would advocate violating federal law, and adding that he believes Congress passing the federal laws in question meets the requirement for legislative involvement.

Public opinion

In 2016, LePage's approval ratings registered at 38%. LePage left office with an approval split of 39–53%.

Post-gubernatorial career LePage returned to Maine in June 2019 to take a job as a bartender at McSeagulls Restaurant in Boothbay, where his wife had worked as a server during his gubernatorial tenure. The restaurant owner stated that hiring LePage was not a publicity stunt, citing the difficulty of hiring new workers.

Awards and honors In 2006, LePage was voted the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce's businessman of the year. On May 13, 2019, LePage was given an honorary degree by the University of Maine System Board of Trustees to recognize his support of education in Maine, and specifically the university system.

Personal life In 1971 LePage married Sharon Crabbe, whose family owned a lumber business in New Brunswick, where LePage worked as treasurer and general manager. They resided in Perth-Andover, New Brunswick, and their two daughters were born in 1975 and 1976. LePage and Crabbe divorced in 1980.

LePage has two children with his second wife, Ann DeRosby, whom he married in 1984. Since 2002, his household has also included a young man from Jamaica, whom he calls an adopted son. Just before the 2018 election to select his successor, he stated that he would move to Florida for a majority of the year and become a legal resident there in order to pay no income tax and less in property taxes. He also sold the Boothbay residence. LePage and Ann DeRosby have had conflicts with Florida tax authorities since they have claimed full-time residence in the state while not fulfilling the requirement to live there for the required amount of time to do so. In 2019, LePage moved back to Maine.

LePage is a self-described "French Catholic" who believes in God.

In January 2017 LePage said that he had undergone bariatric surgery and lost , after his doctor warned that he was at risk of diabetes if he did not lose weight.

Electoral history