Jonathan Bush, the nephew of former President George H.W. Bush and cousin of former President George W. Bush, has failed to clinch the GOP nomination for governor in Maine.
Former U.S. assistant Secretary of State Robert Charles won the primary Friday after the June 9 race advanced to ranked choice voting.
Charles will face off against Democrat Hannah Pingree in November.
Throughout his campaign, Bush sought to distinguish himself from his family dynasty — a difficult sell under a Republican Party that has been dramatically transformed under President Donald Trump.
When he launched his campaign last fall to replace outgoing Gov. Janet Mills (D), Bush branded himself as a business-oriented political outsider and “a fanatic Maine optimist,” focusing his message on economic growth and job creation, slashing income and property taxes, and auditing state government.
In one radio ad played in Maine earlier this year, he addressed potential voter apprehension around his family name head-on.
“I’m Jonathan Bush,” he said. “Now hold on, I know what you’re thinking — not another Bush. I get it. But hear me out: I might be different than what you’re expecting. First, I’m not low energy anything.”
As the 57-year-old son of a banker and member of the Bush family, Jonathan Bush’s political roots in Maine trace back decades. The Bush family’s compound in Kennebunkport — an oceanfront home known as Walker’s Point Estate — has notably been in their family for well over a century.
Charles, meanwhile, worked in the administrations of three Republican presidents, including Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. He has repeatedly vowed to work with the Trump administration and investigate alleged fraud in the state if elected in November.