The Full Read · Article by Article
Rick Bennett
State Senator · I–ME
7/7
🥇 Gold
1Open Bookscritical
85%★ earned
“…the property of the people.” — Cicero, De Re Publica
Runs his campaigns under the Maine Clean Election Act — full public financing — clearing the money floor structurally; 2026 gubernatorial financing to be verified separately.
2Free & Fair Electionscritical
85%★ earned
“The ballot is stronger than the bullet.” — Abraham Lincoln
Nothing in the record indicates election denial or any threat to peaceful transfer of power.
3The Dignity of the Opponent
80%★ earned
“Treat humanity … always as an end and never as a means only.” — Kant
A record built around civility, having called the loss of it in politics "unfair, unprofessional."
4Fear Is Not Fuel
80%★ earned
“…the better angels of our nature.” — Lincoln, First Inaugural
Left his party to run for governor as an independent explicitly on civility grounds, not grievance.
5Truth & a Kept Word
75%★ earned
“…living within the truth.” A representative owes “his judgment.” — Havel · Burke
A longtime dark-money reformer with a consistent public record on the issue. Long-standing reform commitments held across his legislative tenure; no broken pledges documented.
6Against the Spirit of Party
88%★ earned
“The baneful effects of the spirit of party.” — Washington, Farewell Address
Left the Republican Party to run as an independent, placing principle above tribe.
7Morality
88%★ earned
“The time is always right to do what is right.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
A longtime dark-money reformer who left his own party over civility; no personal-ethics problem on the record.
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Scores are Independent 2026’s own editorial read against the Seven Articles — ≥60% earns the star. The first two Articles are critical: fail Open Books or Free & Fair Elections and there is no seal, whatever else holds. Each Article carries its founding quote as the yardstick. On bias →