Ronald C. Russell

Ronald (Ron) C. Russell is the Republican nominee for Maine's 1st Congressional District and a defense contractor from Kennebunkport. A West Point attendee and Army Special Forces veteran who describes himself as a native Mainer and business owner, he lost to Rep. Chellie Pingree in 2024 and won the 2026 Republican primary for a rematch.[1][2][3]

Russell grew up on his family's potato farm in northern Maine and describes himself as a native Mainer.[1][3][4] Ballotpedia lists him as born in Fort Fairfield, Maine, and as a 1976 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point who served in the U.S. Army until 2006.[5] In his own words he served 30 years in the military as an Airborne Ranger and Special Forces Green Beret.[3][4]

After his military service Russell lived in the South, started a small operations and intelligence business, and worked about 15 years as a Department of Defense contractor.[3][4] Ballotpedia describes his career as including work for a defense contractor and later co-owning another company.[5]

Russell returned to Maine to run for office; he is a Kennebunkport resident and had not held elected office before 2024.[2][3] He won the 2024 Republican primary over Andrew Piantidosi and lost the November 2024 general election to Pingree by more than 20 points.[2][3][4] He won the June 9, 2026 Republican primary over Joshua James Pietrowicz.[2]

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.