Robert J. Wessels
Republican | Maine
Candidate Profile
Conservative
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Robert J. Wessels
Party
Republican
Election Year
2026
Election
Republican Primary
Race
Governor
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, BA in Education, 1997-2001
University of Arizona, Online, Master's in Business Administration, 2020-2022
WORK & MILITARY
Walmart, Variety-from stocking shelves to Co-Store Manager, 2004-2011
USCellular, Store Manager, 2011-2025
AFFILIATIONS
Moss Brook Church, Member, 2003-2026
Moss Brook Church, Elder/Deacon, 2012-2025
Waterman Bible Church, Youth Pastor, 2002-2003
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Selectman for Paris Maine, 2012-2016
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Selectman for Paris Maine, 2012-2016
Selectman for Paris Maine (unsuccessful first bid, followed 1 month later by a successful bid), 2012-
OTHER INFORMATION
Maine Policy Institute debate in March 2026.
Common Sense for Maine Gubernatorial Debate - September 16, 2025
This debate features candidates Robert Wessels, Jim Libby, David Jones, Owen McCarthy, and Ben Midgley with Ray Richardson as Moderator. Ray Richardson is a lifelong prolife activist.
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive taxpayer funds from federal, state, or local governments (including Title X grants).
Strongly Agree
Under what circumstances should an elective abortion be allowed?
When the Mother's life is in danger and it is a "life of the mother exception."
Human life deserves legal protection from conception until natural death.
Strongly Agree
I am a big proponent for the sanctity of life.
The lives of human embryos created through artificial methods ought to be protected from purposeful destruction.
Strongly Agree
The Comstock Act, which bans interstate transportation of abortion-inducing drugs, should be enforced.
Agree
Any law on our books should be enforced or repealed if we (Congress) no longer agree with it.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
What does "separation of church and state" mean to you?
Separation of church & state is about limiting the government's power over religion, not silencing our religious citizens.
Individuals and businesses should be required to provide services even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.
Strongly Disagree
Individuals and businesses should be able to choose who they do business with, even if that means it bankrupts them.
NATIONAL SECURITY
The Chinese Communist Party poses serious military, cyber security, intellectual property, and global economic threats to the United States.
Agree
Is the United States' relationship with Israel important, and if so why?
Israel is a great long-term ally with the United States and we need to maintain that. We need to support them and back them up. No foreign country, including Israel, should be as influential as AIPAC is in Washington DC.
HEALTHCARE
What most closely matches your view on healthcare: A) Healthcare for all should be guaranteed and funded by the government with no private healthcare option. (includes "universal healthcare," "medicare for all," etc.) B) Healthcare insurance funded by the government should be available for all who want it, along with private healthcare options. C) Medicaid and Medicare should remain available, but no other taxpayer-funded programs are necessary. D) Taxpayer funded health care should be abolished in all forms, and Medicaid and Medicare should be defunded.
C. Medicaid and Medicare should remain available, but no other taxpayer-funded programs are necessary. Maine care should not cover non-citizens and maine care should be approached as giving a hand UP, not a hand OUT. Our current systems create dependency on our government and this should never be our goal.
The government should keep a database of people with various ongoing medical illnesses to assess the economic burden of treatment.
Disagree
The government can keep a record of taxpayer funded treatments to have a better idea of where our money is going and if policy changes are necessary. The government should not be keeping track of private citizens health scenarios.
ECONOMY
What is your position on the minimum wage?
Continuously increasing the minimum wage like Maine has been doing causes an increase in prices and hurts Maine businesses. It will also impact the number of jobs in the marketplace as businesses figure out ways to replace human jobs.
Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.
Strongly Agree
The fewer regulations our governments put on us, the more of an economic engine the people/businesses become. We need to GREATLY reduce regulations and red tape.
List your top 3-5 priorities to eliminate government waste.
1. Relentlessly go after corruption within our government and hold those accountable. 2. Dramatically reduce regulations and red tape. 3. Create efficiencies and modernize our government operations and processes. 4. Empower our law enforcement and judicial system to enforce justice equally, for all crimes committed and become a state of law & order again. 5. Make "no bid contracts" a rare exception again and make it a senior-level decision for the government to give money to a non-profit/NGO.
IMMIGRATION
I support the existence of sanctuary cities to protect undocumented persons.
Strongly Disagree
A country with no borders, is not a country. We have laws in place and they need to be enforced. I am all for LEGAL immigration. We should not be giving free taxpayer benefits to non-citizens...NGO's can provide for legal immigrants if they want to, as long as the NGO is not being funded by the government.
EDUCATION
I support eliminating the U.S. Department of Education and giving control back to states and communities.
Strongly Agree
The federal DOE has failed. We need all education to be handled at the state level...and most of that needs to be handled at the district level in Maine. Right now the state and federal government have too much power in education and we need to get that back to the local level. Empower our districts and give them the responsibility to do what needs to be done, and then hold them accountable to their results.
Foreign governments should be prohibited from funding American education.
Agree
There is always strings attached with funding dollars.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
What should be the goal of the criminal justice system?
To make us a civilization of Law & order. To consistently and unbiasedly hold people accountable to our laws.
Government has a responsibility to protect children from sexual exploitation during online activities.
Strongly Agree
Our government has the responsibility to hold people who exploit our children (online in the real world) accountable for their horrific behaviors.
Sharia law should not be accepted or incorporated in any form within the legal framework of the United States.
Strongly Agree
Sharia law conflicts with our constitution and therefore should not legally be able to be in the legal framework in the US.
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
I am a staunch 2nd amendment protector. I believe that the 2nd amendment is what safeguards all the other amendments. History has shown that when the people are unable to protect themselves, it is harder to keep their government in check.
ABOUT YOU
When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and religious liberty, which of the following best describes you overall?
Conservative
I am both socially and fiscally conservative.
Have you ever been penalized for sexual misconduct in either civil or criminal court? If so, please explain.
No.
Have you ever been convicted of a felony? If so, please explain.
No.
VALUES
Government should recognize and support the fundamental right and essential duty of parents to direct their child's health and educational well-being.
Strongly Agree
This is one of the biggest areas we are seeing government overreach in Maine right now. As a homeschooling dad, I fully support parental rights in health and education.
Attempts to physically or socially transition a child to the opposite sex constitute child abuse.
Strongly Agree
Marriage is a God-ordained, sacred and legal union of one man and one woman. No government has the authority to alter this definition.
Choose not to answer
I support the expansion of gambling in my state.
Choose not to answer
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I believe the Bible is the living word of God and it is THE Truth. I strive to live my life by what it says, allowing my decisions and actions to be directed by His word. We are called to love God and love others, not a fake surfacy love, but a sincere biblical love...sometimes this will be a "tough love" that allows consequences for bad decisions to hurt. I believe that much of what we are seeing in the degradation of society today is because we as a society have pushed God out of the picture.
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Strongly Disagree
Only citizens should vote and we should be able to prove that we are a citizen and we should be able to prove that we are who we claim to be. There are many aspects to life and society that require ID's, it is reasonable that deciding the future of our government should be one of them.
EQUALITY
Reparations should be given to people on the basis of race.
Strongly Disagree
Slavery was wrong and we ended it. All people are now equal. With reparations you are making one generation pay for the sins of many previous generations.
Biological males should not be allowed to participate in women's sports or occupy biological women's spaces whether it be bathrooms, locker rooms, sorority houses, women's shelters, or prison.
Strongly Agree
As the father of a 17-year-old daughter in sports, I fully support keeping biological males out of women's sports and spaces.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Man-made climate change is a global threat and requires urgent political action.
Disagree
I am all for being good stewards of what God has given us, this includes our land. Our farm does regenerative farming. I don't believe that we are causing a global threat and I don't believe we should be prioritizing the "green" initiative over the people of Maine like the Janet Mills administration has been doing for the last 8 years.
What do you believe is the most reliable energy source that will supply the growing demand for electricity?
I believe nuclear is currently the most reliable energy and I believe Maine needs to start heading in that direction. I also believe that natural gas and hydro should play a bigger role moving forward.
