Paul LePage Bio
Paul Richard LePage, born October 9, 1948, in Lewiston, Maine, is an American businessman and politician and a member of the Republican Party. He served as the 74th governor of Maine from 2011 to 2019, the first popularly elected Franco-American governor in the state’s history. Before entering state-level politics, LePage built a career in retail management and ran his own consulting firm.
LePage gained national attention for his combative political style, his extensive use of the gubernatorial veto, and a series of public controversies surrounding his remarks on race, immigration, drug policy, and social issues. After leaving office, he briefly retired to Florida before mounting a successful primary campaign in 2021 to seek a third gubernatorial term, an effort he lost to Democrat Janet Mills in 2022.
Early Life and Background
Paul Richard LePage was born in Lewiston, Maine, on October 9, 1948, to Gerard LePage and Theresa (née Gagnon) LePage. He grew up in a Franco-American household in Lewiston, a city with a long history of French-Canadian immigration. French was his first language, an experience that later shaped his public advocacy for immigrant communities in Maine.
LePage attended Lewiston High School before continuing his education at Husson University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree, and later at the University of Maine, where he completed a Master of Business Administration. He has often cited his working-class upbringing and the financial discipline he developed during his school years as formative influences on his political outlook.
As a young man, LePage entered the private sector, working in retail management and eventually founding his own business consulting firm. His years in business gave him the profile he would later rely on as a candidate who presented himself as an outsider focused on economic growth and lower taxes.
Path to US Politics
LePage’s political career began at the local level in Waterville, Maine, where he served as a city councilor starting in 1998. He went on to be elected mayor of Waterville in 2003, an office he held for two terms until 2011. His tenure as mayor gave him his first executive-level government experience and helped him build a regional reputation as a fiscal conservative.
Encouraged by local Tea Party activists and supporters who saw him as a Republican outsider, LePage announced on September 22, 2009, that he would seek the 2010 Republican nomination for governor of Maine. Despite being outspent roughly ten-to-one by his closest primary challenger, he won 38 percent of the vote in a seven-way primary field, aided by a campaign strategy that emphasized his business background and his experience as a sitting mayor.
In the 2010 general election, LePage faced Democratic state senator Libby Mitchell and three independent candidates, including Eliot Cutler. Backed by a fragmented field, he won with about 38 percent of the vote, becoming the first popularly elected Franco-American governor of Maine and the first Republican to hold the office since John R. McKernan Jr.’s 1990 re-election.
Paul LePage Career
Early Career (2003–2010)
LePage’s first major political role came when he was elected mayor of Waterville in 2003, and he was reelected in 2008. As mayor, he focused on city budgeting, economic development, and reducing municipal spending. His two terms gave him a record to point to when he ran for statewide office.
His business career provided a secondary foundation for his political rise. LePage worked in retail management and operated a consulting firm, experiences he frequently highlighted on the campaign trail. These positions allowed him to present himself as a chief executive who understood both the private sector and the constraints of running a government entity.
First Gubernatorial Term (2011–2014)
LePage was sworn in as the 74th governor of Maine in January 2011. From the start of his tenure, he made extensive use of his veto power, a tool he wielded more aggressively than any governor in modern Maine history. By mid-2018, he had vetoed 652 bills, more than the total issued by all Maine governors over the previous 100 years combined.
Most of his vetoes came after 2013, when Democrats regained control of the Maine Legislature. In 2015, he pledged to veto every bill sponsored by a Democrat in retaliation for the rejection of his proposed constitutional amendment to eliminate the state income tax, and he later expanded that threat to all bills. His clashes with the Democratic legislature dominated his first term and produced a steady stream of national headlines.
LePage won reelection in 2014 with 48 percent of the vote in a three-candidate race, an unusually strong plurality for a Maine governor. He was sworn in for a second term, during which he continued to focus on tax reduction, welfare reform, and deregulation, while remaining at odds with the legislature on most major policy questions.
Second Gubernatorial Term and After (2015–2019)
During his second term, LePage pushed for a constitutional amendment to eliminate the state income tax and proposed replacing it with a higher, broader sales tax. He also continued his combative approach to the legislature, refusing to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act even after Maine voters approved expansion in a 2017 referendum. After voters approved the expansion, LePage refused to implement the program, citing a lack of funding, and expansion advocates sued him in response.
LePage was barred by Maine’s term limits from seeking a third consecutive term, and he was succeeded by Democrat Janet Mills in January 2019. Shortly after leaving office, he announced his retirement from politics and established residency in Florida.
In 2021, LePage re-established residency in Maine and announced a third run for governor. He faced no primary opposition but lost to Mills by 13 percentage points in the 2022 general election. After that loss he returned to Florida, and on May 5, 2025, he announced his candidacy for Maine’s 2nd congressional district in 2026.
Notable Events and Milestones
LePage’s time in office is most closely associated with his record-setting use of the veto and a series of national controversies stemming from his public remarks. He drew widespread criticism for comments about drug dealers at a 2016 town hall meeting, which prompted condemnations from members of both parties, including U.S. Senator Susan Collins. He also made headlines for leaving a profanity-laced voicemail for a Democratic lawmaker and for remarks about asylum seekers in Maine. Despite these controversies, he remained a dominant figure in Maine Republican politics throughout the decade.
Paul LePage Career Wins
Paul Richard LePage won two gubernatorial elections in Maine, in 2010 and 2014, making him one of only a handful of two-term governors in the state’s modern history. Both of his victories came in multi-candidate fields, with him winning a plurality rather than a majority of the vote.
Gubernatorial Election Highlights
LePage first won the governorship in 2010, capturing about 38 percent of the vote in a five-candidate race that included Democrat Libby Mitchell and independent Eliot Cutler. He was reelected in 2014 with about 48 percent of the vote in a three-candidate race, a stronger performance that demonstrated the durability of his political coalition in Maine.
His final gubernatorial campaign came in 2022, when he won the Republican primary unopposed and faced incumbent Janet Mills in the general election. He lost that race by 13 percentage points, ending his bid for an unprecedented third term as governor.
Other Wins & Achievements
Before his statewide runs, LePage won two terms as mayor of Waterville, first being elected in 2003 and then reelected in 2008. His 2010 gubernatorial primary win was also a notable achievement, given that he was outspent roughly ten-to-one by his closest challenger.
Paul LePage Family
Family Background and Political Lineage
Paul Richard LePage was born to Gerard LePage and Theresa (née Gagnon) LePage and raised in Lewiston, Maine, in a Franco-American family with deep roots in the region. His French-speaking upbringing shaped his later advocacy for immigrant communities, and he has often spoken about his personal experiences with language barriers and economic hardship during his childhood and young adult years.
Personal Life
LePage was married to Sharon Crabbe from 1971 to 1980, when the couple divorced. He married Ann DeRosby in 1984. The couple has been a prominent presence in Maine political life, and LePage has publicly stated that he would not have considered a 2018 U.S. Senate run without his wife’s approval.