Bennet
politician senator businessperson
Richard A. Bennett was born in Portland, Maine, on May 24, 1963, and grew up in Yarmouth. He has described himself as the son of a public-school teacher and a retail sales clerk. His family has longstanding roots in Oxford County, where relatives have lived for more than two centuries. He later established his home in Norway and Oxford, Maine, with his wife, Karen, and their two children.
Bennett graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in government and was described as an honors graduate. He later pursued business education at the University of Southern Maine, earning a Master of Business Administration in finance. His education preceded a career that combined electoral politics, party organization, small-business management, and corporate-governance consulting.
Bennett began his professional career in Maine Republican politics, serving as executive director of the Maine Republican Party from 1985 to 1987 and again from 1988 to 1993. During the same period he also held sales-management positions and developed private-sector experience, later operating Bennett Development Company as its proprietor from 1991 to 1999. He worked with Lens Investment Management from 1997 to 2002, including as director of corporate governance, advising on issues involving corporate accountability and institutional investors. His public career began with election to the Maine House of Representatives, where he served from 1990 to 1994. He was elected to the Maine Senate in 1996 and served through 2004, representing the 25th District. In 2001 and 2002 he served as president of the Maine Senate, gaining the office through a bipartisan power-sharing arrangement. He later sought federal office as the Republican nominee for Maine’s Second Congressional District in 1994 and was a candidate for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate in 2012. Bennett returned to the private sector as president and chief executive officer of The Corporate Library from 2006 to 2010. The company subsequently became part of GMI Ratings, where he served as chairman or vice chairman from 2010 to 2014. He also founded ValueEdge Advisors LLC in 2014, providing corporate-governance engagement and advisory services to institutional investors. His business career included leadership and board work connected with corporate governance, environmental performance, investor protection, and the restructuring of Maine companies. He returned to the Maine Senate in 2020 and has continued in legislative service, representing the 19th District before later representing the 18th District. He has served on committees including Government Oversight, Housing and Economic Development, and Senate Rules. In 2025 he left the Republican Party and became an independent. He subsequently campaigned for governor of Maine in the 2026 election while continuing his legislative service.
Served as president of the Maine Senate from 2001 to 2002 through a bipartisan power-sharing arrangement.
Returned to the Maine Senate in 2020 after an earlier period of legislative service and continued representing western Maine.
Led The Corporate Library and helped develop it into GMI Ratings, a global corporate-governance research and ratings firm.
Founded ValueEdge Advisors LLC to provide corporate-governance engagement services to institutional investors.
Served as chairman of the Maine Republican Party from 2013 to 2017.
Was the Republican nominee for Maine's Second Congressional District in 1994 and later sought the Republican nomination for the United States Senate in 2012.
Bennett was affiliated with the Republican Party for most of his political career, serving as Maine Republican Party chair from 2013 to 2017. He became an independent in 2025 and pursued the 2026 Maine gubernatorial nomination as an unenrolled candidate.
Bennett has advocated fiscal discipline, balanced budgets, governmental accountability, transparency, and reform of public institutions. His business and political work has also emphasized corporate accountability, long-term decision-making, environmental responsibility, and bipartisan problem-solving.
Bennett has been associated with the National Rifle Association of Maine, the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine, and the Appalachian Mountain Club. He has also participated as a Maine delegate at Republican National Conventions, including the conventions held in 2008 and 2016.
Bennett has been described in legislative testimony as conscientious, thoughtful, and respectful, including by colleagues who worked with him across party lines. His public career has emphasized bipartisan cooperation, governmental accountability, fiscal discipline, and corporate responsibility.
Quotes from others about the person
A legislative colleague described Bennett as conscientious, thoughtful, and respectful, noting that they had worked together both as allies and adversaries while seeking agreement on public policy.
Bennett is married to Karen Bennett and has two children, Abigail and Nathaniel. His political and professional connections have included Maine Republican organizations, the Maine Legislature, corporate-governance firms, institutional investors, and Maine-based business and environmental organizations.
