Greetings all. Excited to share a new conversation I just had with Charlie Dingman, the Chair of the Maine Democratic Party. Now that he’s had some time to get a little bit of sleep I asked Charlie to come by and talk to us about their incredibly successful process to pick a new Senate nominee, and to give us an update on where things stand now as we hurtle into the general election.
Here is some of what Charlie told us:
What was incredible was how our staff came together, thought it through, worked it out, and put in incredible hours to get it done. But we couldn’t have done it by ourselves — we did it with help. We got help from lots of state parties who came to our aid – Oklahoma, Texas, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Massachusetts. And we had help from the ASDC and from the Democratic National Committee. They sent talented people to help us think through the technological and logistical challenges. It was an enormous lift.
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So, I think the extraordinary energy and imagination our staff, along with the incredible effort of our county chairs to pull off these meetings, and the outside effort from other state parties and the national party — it was all an incredible undertaking. Exhausting, and exhausting of resources as well.
As we discussed only a very strong and confident state Democratic Party could have pulled off replacing a Senate nominee without rancor and with a consensus candidate with a real shot at winning in 17 days:
One thing I’ve thought about, reflecting on how we managed to get this done, and you’re right, we’re very excited about how it came together — is that if we hadn’t built a state party last year, fighting voter suppression, that already had a real backbone of staff expertise and a real backbone of connections across the state with our voters, I don’t think we could have done what we did in July, as extraordinary as that was. And that’s thanks to the work you did to help us build the party’s strength last year. Without that, I don’t think we could have done what we did this year.
In all my years in this crazy business what the Maine Democrats just pulled off - with the help of this incredible community- is one the most remarkable things I’ve ever seen. We should all be grateful to Charlie, Devon, and all the Maine Dems for keeping our hopes of flipping the Senate alive, and for the good they are doing by electing strong Democrats across the state this November.
As we discuss the general election in Maine looks promising. In a state VP Harris won by seven points our gubernatorial candidate, Hannah Pingree, has double digit leads in all polls; the NYT had the generic ballot 53% Dem - 42% GOP; and the first independent poll of Maine with Troy Jackson on the ballot had him up 49%-46% (+3).
We’ve started working for the Maine Democrats more than a year ago. Our Audacious Expansion Fund has poured in $135,000 so far, much of that coming last year when dollars went further. We stepped up big time for the MDP and raised more than $80,000 for the nominating process and convention, including lots of early, early money that allowed them to staff up and swing big. Now are raising critical early funds for Troy Jackson, to help him staff up, grow his campaign, and get ready to win. Our goal was to raise him $100,000 by midnight tonight. As of press time we are at $96,500 - can you chip in today?
Here’s my recent interview with Troy if you haven’t gotten to it yet:
Here’s a recent video that speaks to his growth and growing confidence as a candidate, something we discuss in the interview. He’s getting better and better on the stump:
Friends, our work in Maine - timely, strategic, effective - have been some of our most important work together this cycle. Let’s now finish the job by helping Troy Jackson beat Susan Collins, and make our good friend Charlie Dingman the happiest man in the Pine Tree State this November! - Simon
Bio - Charlie Dingman, Chair of the Maine Democratic Party
Charles F. (“Charlie”) Dingman has lived in the rural community of Leeds, in northern Androscoggin County, since 1979. He is an attorney based in Augusta, where he has worked at the Maine Public Utilities Commission, served as General Counsel of the Maine Health Care Finance Commission, and now practices privately with a focus on health care law and policy.
Alongside his professional work, Charlie has dedicated significant time to public service and community engagement. He has been a longtime volunteer with Maine Equal Justice, a nonprofit legal services organization focused on advancing economic fairness and opportunity for working families. Locally, he and his partner, Eliza Townsend, are helping to build community through a new nonprofit initiative in their town. In his free time, he enjoys hiking and has explored trails across Maine’s mountains, forests, and coastline.
Charlie has extensive experience in local and party leadership. He served on the Leeds school board for two decades, including many years as chair, and has moderated town meetings for decades. He ran for the Maine House of Representatives in 2014 and has often served as chair of his municipal Democratic caucus (and, in 2026, its first regional caucus with several adjacent towns). He was a delegate for Bernie Sanders to the State Convention in both 2016 and 2020 and served as chair of the Maine Democratic Party Finance Committee from 2016 to 2023.
Through his legal career, Charlie has advocated before all three branches of Maine government and brings a strong understanding of how political and legal systems function. He believes deeply in the role of the Democratic Party in protecting the health, well-being, and economic security of all Maine people. He was moved to seek the office of DSC Chair in 2025 in response to the dangerous political crisis facing our nation, coupled with a sense that continued Democratic Party success in Maine depends on reinvigorating our role as the party of Maine’s working people.
