{"id":2505,"date":"2026-06-20T08:06:50","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T08:06:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2505"},"modified":"2026-06-20T08:06:50","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T08:06:50","slug":"bush-dynasty-suffers-defeat-in-maine-gubernatorial-primary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2505","title":{"rendered":"Bush dynasty suffers defeat in Maine gubernatorial primary"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Two political dynasties flamed out in Maine\u2019s ranked-choice gubernatorial primaries earlier this month.<\/p>\n

Read more Over a dozen stranded after popular \u2018Wave Twister\u2019 ride gets stuck at Long Island\u2019s Adventureland<\/a><\/p>\n

Republican Jonathan Bush, the nephew of former President George H. W. Bush and a cousin of former President George W. Bush, was eliminated from contention following the sixth round of tabulation.<\/p>\n

On the Democratic side, Angus King III, the son of Sen. Angus King (D-Maine), was eliminated following the first round.<\/p>\n

Democrat Hannah Pingree \u2014 the former speaker of the Maine House of Representatives and the daughter of Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) \u2014 and Republican Bobby Charles will compete this fall to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, the Maine Secretary of State\u2019s Office confirmed Friday.<\/p>\n

Jonathan Bush, who is also the brother of former \u201cAccess Hollywood\u201d and \u201cExtra\u201d anchor Billy Bush, is best known as the founder of Athenahealth, a healthcare software company that he was pushed out of in 2018 after an activist investor purchased shares of the company.<\/p>\n

The Bush scion had also been dogged by allegations that he had attacked his ex-wife and had been caught on camera making nasty remarks to a female colleague.<\/p>\n

Despite being a member of a political dynasty, Bush portrayed himself as an outsider who would reverse Maine\u2019s liberal policies. His loss means that the most recent Bush to hold political office was George P. Bush, who departed the Texas land commissioner post in 2023. <\/p>\n

Read more White House spars with MAGA allies as Iran deal sparks conservative revolt<\/a><\/p>\n

In addition to Bush and Charles, a former assistant US secretary of state under George W. Bush, the GOP field in the June 9 primary included former Maine Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason; former Paris, Maine, selectman Robert Wessels; and businessmen Owen McCarthy, David Jones and Ben Midgley.<\/p>\n

On the Democratic side, Pingree and King III, whose father served as governor from 1995 through 2003 and was elected to the Senate in 2012, were facing Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows; former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson; and former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Nirav Shah.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The younger King worked in the Clinton White House before returning to his home state to found energy firm Peaks Renewables, which he left last year to launch his gubernatorial campaign.<\/p>\n

The elder King, a registered independent who caucuses with Democrats, is up for re-election in 2030.<\/p>\n

Maine has used\u00a0ranked choice voting\u00a0since voters approved it in a 2016 referendum. <\/p>\n

Under the system, voters were allowed to rank the candidates on their ballot in order of preference. If no candidate breaks 50% of the popular vote, the bottom finisher is eliminated, and the second choices of voters who supported that candidate are then counted. The tabulations continue until a candidate achieves a majority of the total votes.<\/p>\n

Read more My Nazi lover: Inside the SPLC\u2019s anti-hate racket<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two political dynasties \u2014 late President George H.W. Bush’s nephew and the son of Sen. Angus King \u2014 crashed and burned in Maine’s messy gubernatorial primaries Tuesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2504,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nBush dynasty suffers defeat in Maine gubernatorial primary - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2505\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bush dynasty suffers defeat in Maine gubernatorial primary - Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Two political dynasties \u2014 late President George H.W. 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