Paul LePage, a Republican who was governor of Maine from January 2011 to January 2019, is running for the U.S. House in Maine's 2nd District in the November 3, 2026 general election against Democrat Matt Dunlap, the state auditor.
As governor, LePage refused to carry out the MaineCare expansion that voters approved in 2017, put a time limit on cash help for poor families, held back bonds voters had approved for senior housing and land conservation, and vetoed a record number of bills. As a candidate, he backed the federal Medicaid work requirement that MaineCare estimated could cost upwards of 31,000 members their coverage in its first year.
About Paul LePage
- Full name
- Paul LePage, Republican, on the 2026 ballot for Maine's 2nd Congressional District
- Current role
- No current office; former governor of Maine
- Prior offices
- Governor of Maine from January 5, 2011 to January 2, 2019; mayor of Waterville from 2004 to 2011, after two terms on the Waterville City Council
- Seeking
- U.S. House, Maine's 2nd District, on November 3, 2026, against Democrat Matt Dunlap
- Key actions and positions
- vetoed MaineCare expansion in 2013 and 2014; refused to implement the voter-approved expansion in 2017 and 2018; withheld the voter-approved senior housing bond from 2015 to 2018; emptied the Downeast Correctional Facility in February 2018; backed the federal Medicaid work requirement in July 2025
What Paul LePage Is Responsible For
- MaineCare and Medicaid expansion. Paul LePage vetoed every MaineCare expansion bill lawmakers passed in 2013 and 2014, cut about 24,500 parents and adults without children from MaineCare at the end of 2013, and after voters approved expansion in 2017 asked federal officials in 2018 to reject the court-ordered plan, which his own letter said would cover 70,000 to 90,000 people. Coverage began only after he left office.
- Cash aid and food stamps. LePage signed a five-year lifetime limit on cash aid for poor families in 2011; a University of Maine study found more than 1,500 families with 2,700 children lost benefits under it. His administration's reinstated food stamp time limit removed more than 9,000 Mainers from the program by March 2015.
- Maine income taxes and school funding. Tax changes made under LePage cut Maine's income tax collections by $895 million a year in 2022 dollars, with 46 percent of the cut going to the top fifth of households, and he signed the 2017 budget that repealed the 3 percent surcharge voters had approved for schools.
- Riverview Psychiatric Center and naloxone. Maine's state psychiatric hospital, Riverview, lost federal certification in 2013 under LePage, and the state later owed $51 million in federal money it had kept drawing. LePage vetoed pharmacy access to the overdose antidote naloxone in 2016, writing that "Naloxone does not truly save lives; it merely extends them until the next overdose."
- Senior housing and conservation bonds. LePage refused to issue the $15 million senior housing bond voters approved in 2015, which waited 1,169 days for release, and vetoed a 2017 bill to force its sale; the money now helps build 212 homes for Mainers 55 and older.
- Public health nurses. LePage's health department shrank Maine's public health nursing staff from about 50 nurses in 2011 to about 20 in 2017; those nurses visited new mothers and babies at home and answered disease outbreaks.
- Tipped workers and the minimum wage. LePage signed the 2017 law that ended the raises Maine voters had approved for tipped workers and set their base pay at half the minimum wage.
- Voting. LePage signed a 2011 law ending Election Day registration, which voters repealed 237,024 to 155,156, and said he would "probably not certify" the results of Maine's 2018 ranked-choice primary.
- Maine's tribes. LePage's 2015 executive order rescinded the state's order on cooperation with Maine's tribes, and within weeks three tribes formally cut their relationship with the state.
- Conversion therapy. In 2018 LePage became the first governor in the country to veto a ban on conversion therapy for minors.
- Aid for asylum seekers. LePage's administration cut off state reimbursement of General Assistance for asylum seekers waiting for work permits, leaving Portland and other cities to pay; Portland put the cost at roughly $3 million in fiscal 2015.
- Offshore wind. LePage pushed the 2013 law that reopened Maine's offshore wind bidding, and Statoil then canceled its $120 million floating wind project and moved its work to Scotland.
- Downeast Correctional Facility. In February 2018 LePage's administration emptied the Machiasport prison before dawn and sent layoff notices to 39 workers; a judge ruled his administration lacked the authority to close it, and he vetoed the bill to fund it that July.
- The Medicaid work requirement. LePage backed the Medicaid work requirement in the 2025 tax and spending law, the Bangor Daily News reported; MaineCare estimates upwards of 31,000 members could lose coverage in its first year, starting January 2027.
- The Iran war and heating oil. At an October 2026 debate LePage opposed the war powers resolution meant to end the Iran war, as Maine heating oil prices ran more than 80 percent above the year before.
- Election claims. LePage called the 2020 presidential election "clearly a stolen election." On May 15, 2025 he said his 2022 loss in Maine "was bought," and in the same radio interview he claimed noncitizens had voted; he lost that race by 13 percentage points.
How This Page on Paul LePage Is Sourced
Paul LePage's actions as governor on this page are linked to the Maine Legislature's bill records, his own executive orders and newsroom statements, and Maine court rulings, such as the 2018 Law Court decision on Medicaid expansion. His statements as a candidate are linked to the Maine outlets that reported them, mainly the Bangor Daily News, Maine Public and Maine Morning Star, and every figure links to its source, including the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. The page was last updated on October 26, 2026, and the Maine Legislature's records were rechecked that day.
Frequently Asked Questions About Paul LePage
What is Paul LePage's record under Trump?
Paul LePage's record comes mostly from his eight years as Maine governor, when he blocked MaineCare expansion until he left office, limited cash aid and food stamps, and withheld bonds voters had approved. Since Trump's return, as a candidate for Maine's 2nd District, he has backed the federal Medicaid work requirement and opposed a war powers resolution to end the Iran war.
Did Paul LePage block Medicaid expansion in Maine?
Yes. Paul LePage vetoed the expansion bills the Legislature passed in 2013 and 2014, and after voters approved expansion in November 2017 he said his administration would not carry it out until the Legislature funded it at levels his health department set. Low-income Mainers and health centers had to sue to force the state to file its plan.
Does Paul LePage support Medicaid work requirements?
Yes. Paul LePage backed the work requirement in the 2025 federal tax and spending law, which applies to MaineCare expansion adults from January 1, 2027. Maine's health department said members could lose coverage under it because of verification barriers, not necessarily because they fail the work rules.
How many bills did Paul LePage veto as governor?
Paul LePage vetoed 642 bills as Maine governor, more than all of the state's previous 23 governors put together, the Bangor Daily News reported in December 2018. Among them were bills to expand MaineCare, raise the minimum wage and require the release of voter-approved bonds.
What happened when Paul LePage closed the Downeast prison in Machiasport?
Paul LePage's administration moved the prison's 63 prisoners out before dawn on February 9, 2018, and employers in Washington County who relied on its work-release crews lost those workers overnight. A judge then ruled his administration lacked the power to close the prison on its own.
What has Paul LePage said about the 2020 and 2022 elections?
Paul LePage told a Portland radio station in November 2020 that the presidential race was a stolen election, and in May 2025 he claimed noncitizens voted in his 2022 race for governor. When asked for proof of noncitizen voting, he and his campaign strategist did not respond, the Bangor Daily News reported.
Last updated: 2026-10-26