AUGUSTA — A Republican businessman from Gorham announced his bid for the 2026 governor’s race on Wednesday. 

Owen McCarthy, a native of Patten, is co-founder of MedRhythms, a health care technology company. He is a graduate of the University of Maine and Harvard Business School, according to a news release from his campaign. 

“I’m not a politician,” he said in the release. “I’m an engineer, entrepreneur, husband and father. I believe Maine can lead again if we get back to basics: rewarding work, respecting taxpayers, and making opportunity real in every zip code.” 

McCarthy joins at least four others seeking the GOP nomination next June — and the list is expected to grow. So far, Bobby Charles, an attorney who worked in the George W. Bush administration; state Sen. Jim Libby of Standish; Ken Capron of Portland and David Jones, a real estate developer from Falmouth, have all launched campaigns. 

On the Democratic side, former Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree, former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and businessman Angus King III are competing for the nomination. 

All are seeking to replace Gov. Janet Mills, a two-term Democrat. 

McCarthy describes himself as a first-time candidate and political outsider who wants to make Maine an affordable place to live. 

“I’m running for governor because the people I grew up with — the forgotten workers, the squeezed middle class, and overlooked rural towns — deserve a government that fights for them,” he said.