Biography
Paul LePage is the Republican nominee for Maine's 2nd Congressional District. A business executive and turnaround consultant, he served on the Waterville City Council, as mayor of Waterville, and as Governor of Maine for two terms (2011-2019). He lost a 2022 comeback bid for governor and was unopposed in the 2026 Republican primary.[1][2][3]
LePage was born on October 9, 1948, in Lewiston, Maine, the eldest of 18 children; according to his campaign website, he left home at age 11 and was homeless before two families took him in.[2][3][4] He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Husson College in 1971 and an M.B.A. from the University of Maine in 1975.[2][3][4]
LePage worked in business for a lumber company in New Brunswick, Canada, and for Scott Paper Company, and in the 1980s founded the management consulting firm LePage & Kasevich Inc.[3] In 1996 he was hired as general manager of Marden's, a Maine discount retail chain.[1][3][4]
LePage was elected to the Waterville City Council in 1997 and re-elected in 1999, serving until 2002.[2][3] He was elected mayor of Waterville in 2003 and re-elected in 2008, serving from 2004 until January 2011.[1][2][3]
LePage was elected Governor of Maine in 2010 and re-elected in 2014 with 48.2% of the vote, serving from 2011 to 2019. According to his campaign website, he was Maine's first Franco-American governor.[1][3][4] He ran for a third non-consecutive term in 2022, losing to Democrat Janet Mills, 56% to 42%.[3] He was unopposed in the June 9, 2026 Republican primary for the open 2nd District seat.[5]
- 1.Matthew Dunlap and Paul LePage candidate profiles · Ballotpedia (curated from candidates' campaign statements) Candidate's own words
- 2.Paul LePage · Ballotpedia Reference
- 3.Paul LePage · Wikipedia · 2026-10-21 Reference
- 4.Meet Paul · LePage for Congress Candidate's own words
- 5.Maine's 2nd Congressional District election, 2026 · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference
Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.