An independent fact-check · 2026 Maine GOP primary

To win, Bobby Charles keeps twisting the truth about the people he’ll need.

Eight times he went after Ben Midgley, the facts came back mostly false or half true — every one a real grain of truth, bent into something it isn’t. Same playbook on Garrett Mason and Jonathan Bush. Every quote below is his, shown as he posted it, and every verdict is sourced. Check us.

See the eight claims ↓

8Midgley claims, all off-true

0that hold up as stated

3opponents, one playbook

Integrity isn’t a slogan. It’s what’s left when the truth is inconvenient.

Bobby Charles didn’t have to invent anything. The public record holds real, checkable facts about his opponents’ pasts. He bent them anyway — and pointed voters to an anonymous attack website now under investigation by the Maine Ethics Commission. Here is exactly what he posted, what was true underneath it, and where it broke.

We hold ourselves to the standard we’re asking of him. None of these are rated an outright lie — and we won’t call them that. Every one has a kernel of truth; that’s the whole point. “Mostly False” = mostly wrong, small true seed. “Half True” = half right, half misleading. Every claim is his real post or press release, linked back to the original, with primary sources for the verdict.

The case study · Ben Midgley

Eight attacks. Eight grains of truth, bent.

Charles has called Midgley a San Francisco Democrat who pushed drag workouts and woke marketing. Pull each claim apart and the same thing happens every time — the true part is small, the damaging part is invented or misattributed.

Mostly FalseFact-check verdict

Bobby Charles for Maine

@BobbyCharlesMaine · May 12, 2026 · 🌐

championed woke DEI, trans, and BLM propaganda at the gyms he worked for. This includes drag show workouts.

👍 Like💬 Comment➤ Share

View original post on Facebook ↗

The grain of truth

A “drag queen” fitness class (“Abs, Thighs and Gossip”) did once exist at a gym called Crunch.

The twist

It belonged to the original Crunch — founded in 1989 by Doug Levine, a different company, two decades before Midgley ran the separate Crunch Franchising in 2010. No evidence he ever championed BLM or transgender messaging. The accusation traces to an anonymous website (midgleyexposed.com) the Maine Ethics Commission is now investigating for hidden funding, and that Midgley says is tied to a rival.

Read the full fact-check finding & sources

Independent reporting does not substantiate the assertion that Ben Midgley personally promoted DEI, transgender-inclusive, or Black Lives Matter messaging, or hosted "drag show workouts," in marketing for the gyms he ran. The "drag queen" fitness class cited in connection with Crunch ("Abs, Thighs and Gossip") dates to the original Crunch Fitness founded by Doug Levine in 1989, roughly two decades before Midgley joined and led the separate Crunch Franchising company in 2010. According to the Bangor Daily News, the underlying accusations originate from an anonymous attack website (midgleyexposed.com) that Midgley's campaign attributes to a rival; that site's substantiated claims center on "pole dancing" classes, and Midgley's campaign states that any such offerings at individual franchise locations occurred "without the approval or even notification of Mr. Midgley" and that critics are "confusing the company I ran as CEO with the actions of another company." No independent evidence was found that Midgley championed BLM or transgender messaging; the only documented Crunch transgender matter is a 2018-2021 discrimination case in which a San Diego-area franchise was sued for denying a transgender woman locker-room access.

Mostly FalseFact-check verdict

Bobby Charles for Maine

@BobbyCharlesMaine · May 12, 2026 · 🌐

Midgley is a 27 year San Francisco Democrat

👍 Like💬 Comment➤ Share

View original post on Facebook ↗

The grain of truth

He really was a registered Democrat for about 27 years.

The twist

But the registration was in Maine — Kennebunk, then Kennebunkport — not San Francisco. The Bangor Daily News traced it to the town hall where, at 18, he first registered to vote. “San Francisco” turns a Mainer into a coastal outsider. That part isn’t true.

Read the full fact-check finding & sources

The factual_assertion contains a true element and a false element. TRUE: the duration claim — Ben Midgley was a registered Democrat for 27 years, per the Bangor Daily News article 'This Maine candidate went from a Democrat to a Republican tied to Paul LePage' (2025-11-03), which states he 'remained a Democrat for 27 years' before re-registering as Republican in 2015. FALSE: the location claim — Midgley's voter registration was in Maine, not San Francisco. The BDN article reports his mother brought him to the 'Kennebunk town hall when he was 18 to help him register to vote,' and that his 2015 Republican registration is on file in Kennebunkport. While Midgley's professional career did take him out of Maine (he led Planet Fitness and co-founded Crunch Fitness, headquartered outside Maine), no available secondary reporting documents a San Francisco voter registration. The Maine Wire article 'Former Fitness Exec Ben Midgley Launches Republican Campaign for Maine Governor' (2025-08) likewise places his political registration in Maine. Rated mostly_false because the geographically-locating element of the claim ('in San Francisco') is contradicted by primary-source reporting on his Maine voter registration history; the duration element ('27 years') is independently confirmed.

Mostly FalseFact-check verdict

Bobby Charles for Maine

@BobbyCharlesMaine · May 7, 2026 · 🌐

ran marketing that included pro-trans, DEI, and BLM material

👍 Like💬 Comment➤ Share

View original post on Facebook ↗

The grain of truth

Companies Midgley once worked for — Planet Fitness, 24 Hour Fitness — did later have DEI and transgender controversies.

The twist

Those happened in 2024, more than a decade after he left. He is not named in any of them, and no source shows a pro-trans/DEI/BLM campaign he personally ran. Origin, again: the anonymous, ethics-investigated site.

Read the full fact-check finding & sources

Ben Midgley was an executive at 24 Hour Fitness, president of Planet Fitness, and the founding CEO of Crunch Fitness (founded around 2009), which he led for roughly 15 years. No independent, credible source documents a specific pro-transgender, DEI, or Black Lives Matter marketing campaign that Midgley personally produced or oversaw; Crunch's branding centers on a general "No Judgments" inclusivity philosophy that predates his leadership. The high-profile DEI and transgender controversies at Planet Fitness (its 2024 hiring of a "DEI-focused" CEO and a 2024 transgender locker-room dispute) and a 2024 Black Lives Matter/Pride apparel policy at 24 Hour Fitness all postdate Midgley's tenure at those companies by more than a decade, and he is not named in connection with them. The specific claim traces to an anonymous attack website now under Maine Ethics Commission investigation and to candidate Bobby Charles himself; Midgley's campaign says the underlying material contains "many factual errors" and that any controversial franchise-level signage occurred "without the approval or even notification of Mr. Midgley."

Half TrueFact-check verdict

Bobby Charles for Maine

@BobbyCharlesMaine · May 5, 2026 · 🌐

Ben Midgley spent decades as a California Democrat before switching parties when it became politically convenient.

👍 Like💬 Comment➤ Share

View original post on Facebook ↗

↻ Repeated word-for-word in his official campaign press release.

The grain of truth

True that he was a long-time Democrat who re-registered as a Republican.

The twist

The switch was in 2015 — roughly a decade before he ran, not a convenient last-minute flip — and his registration was in Maine, not California.

Read the full fact-check finding & sources

According to the Bangor Daily News, Ben Midgley registered to vote as a Democrat at the Kennebunk, Maine town hall at age 18 and "remained a Democrat for 27 years" before "registering as a Republican" in 2015, with his voter registration on file in Kennebunkport, Maine. His business career, leading Planet Fitness and founding Crunch Fitness, took him to California's Contra Costa County before he returned to southern Maine. The assertion that he was a registered Democrat for roughly that long and changed affiliation before his 2026 run is broadly accurate, but the specific claim that he was registered "in California" is not supported by the cited records, which place his Democratic and Republican registrations in Maine. The 2015 switch occurred about a decade before his gubernatorial announcement.

Half TrueFact-check verdict

Bobby Charles for Maine

@BobbyCharlesMaine · May 7, 2026 · 🌐

Ben Midgley voted for woke Democrats in California and Maine

👍 Like💬 Comment➤ Share

View original post on Facebook ↗

The grain of truth

He was a registered Democrat for 27 years, and his career did take him to California.

The twist

How a person actually votes is secret — no record shows Midgley’s ballot choices for anyone. And his party registration is documented in Maine, not California.

Read the full fact-check finding & sources

Public records confirm Ben Midgley was a registered Democrat for about 27 years before changing his registration to Republican in 2015, and his fitness-industry career took him to California (Contra Costa County) before he returned to Maine, per the Bangor Daily News. However, an individual's actual ballot choices are a secret matter, and no independent source documents Midgley voting for specific Democratic candidates in either state; his Democratic party registration is documented in Maine (Kennebunk), not California. The claim's underlying premise of a long-time Democratic affiliation across both states is grounded in a real, documented fact, but the specific assertion that he "voted for Democratic candidates" in California and Maine overstates what the public record can establish.

Half TrueFact-check verdict

Bobby Charles for Maine

@BobbyCharlesMaine · May 5, 2026 · 🌐

His record and business messaging have consistently aligned with left-wing causes, not Maine conservative values. He supported DEI, woke, trans, and BLM.

👍 Like💬 Comment➤ Share

View original post on Facebook ↗

↻ Echoed in his official campaign press release the same week.

The grain of truth

Crunch’s brand did carry “No Judgments” inclusion marketing, and the parent company issued a 2020 BLM statement.

The twist

That 2020 statement came from a different executive at a different entity (Crunch Worldwide’s CEO) while Midgley led Crunch Franchising. His campaign says franchise locations acted without his approval. The personal attribution — and the trans/BLM specifics — trace to Charles’s campaign and the anonymous site.

Read the full fact-check finding & sources

Ben Midgley founded and led Crunch Franchising (Crunch Fitness), a brand with a documented "No Judgments" inclusion identity and an explicit diversity-and-inclusion ("DE&I") marketing appeal, and individual Crunch locations have promoted Pride and diversity events, which gives the DEI/inclusion portion of the assertion a real factual basis. However, the specific framing that Midgley personally "endorsed" pro-transgender and Black Lives Matter messaging traces primarily to rival Bobby Charles's own campaign and to an anonymous attack site (midgleyexposed.com) that Midgley alleges is tied to Charles; independent confirmation of a transgender- or BLM-specific marketing campaign directed by Midgley was not found. In an ethics complaint, Midgley's campaign states that any such location signage or promotion "did so on their own without the approval or even notification of Mr. Midgley," directly disputing personal endorsement. The brand-level diversity marketing is verifiable, but the composite claim overstates Midgley's personal endorsement and the BLM element is not independently established.

It’s a pattern, not a grudge

The same fingerprint shows up on his other rivals.

If it were one heated post, you’d shrug. But the identical move — start with a real fact, then misstate the company, the place, or the record — lands on Garrett Mason and Jonathan Bush too.

Mostly FalseOn Garrett Mason

For Immediate ReleaseBobby Charles for Maine · bobbyformaine.com

“Garrett Mason built his career as an Augusta insider, supporting tax increases and opposing Paul LePage”

Official campaign statement · May 5, 2026 · Read the full statement ↗

The twist

The record shows the opposite: as Senate Majority Leader, Mason backed LePage’s income-tax cuts and pushed to repeal a tax surcharge. Reporting describes him as aligned with LePage’s fiscal agenda, not opposed to it.

Full finding & sources

Garrett Mason served eight years in the Maine Senate, rising to Senate Majority Leader, so the "Augusta insider" descriptor reflects his long tenure. However, the characterization that he built his career "supporting tax increases and opposing Paul LePage" is contradicted by the weight of the record: independent reporting describes Mason as "very socially conservative and fiscally conservative," notes he "backed LePage's income tax cuts that reduced Maine's top income tax rate and eliminated the bottom bracket," and sponsored a charter-school law signed by LePage. The one episode that lends partial truth is the 2017 budget standoff, when Mason and Senate Republicans (in a 34-1 vote) backed a compromise budget that LePage strongly opposed, triggering a brief government shutdown. That single instance does not support a career-defining pattern of backing tax increases or opposing LePage.

Half TrueOn Garrett Mason

Bobby Charles for Maine

@BobbyCharlesMaine · May 5, 2026 · 🌐

He sided with Somali-first politicians to recently vote against public safety funding in Lewiston.

👍 Like💬 Comment➤ Share

View original post on Facebook ↗

The twist

He did vote no on a county public-safety bond — but it was in Auburn, not Lewiston, on stated cost grounds, and a Lewiston commissioner backed the spending he opposed. There was no “Somali-first” alignment.

Full finding & sources

Garrett Mason is an Androscoggin County Commissioner, and in a September 2025 commission vote he was one of four members who voted 4-3 to reject a $29 million bond for a new sheriff's office and regional public-safety building, so the core claim that he voted against a public-safety funding measure is accurate. However, the proposed facility was to be located in Auburn (the former Evergreen Subaru building at 774 Center St.), not Lewiston as the assertion states, and the vote was a county-wide commission decision rather than something specific to Lewiston. Mason's stated reasons were fiscal—he called the project a "bridge too far" and cited cost to his towns—and a Lewiston commissioner (Roland Poirier) voted in favor of the bond, so the characterization that Mason "sided with Somali-first politicians" mischaracterizes a budget vote. The vote occurred about eight months before the May 2026 statement that described it as "recent."

Mostly FalseOn Jonathan Bush

Bobby Charles for Maine

@BobbyCharlesMaine · May 7, 2026 · 🌐

after spending millions from a company that profited off abortion providers

👍 Like💬 Comment➤ Share

View original post on Facebook ↗

The twist

Bush did self-fund from his athenahealth wealth — but athenahealth is medical-billing software that never provided medical care, and his earlier venture ran maternity and birthing clinics, not abortion. No source ties his money to “abortion providers.”

Full finding & sources

Independent reporting confirms one part of the claim: Jonathan Bush has largely self-funded his Maine gubernatorial campaign, putting in roughly $877,000 to more than $1.1 million of his own money, derived from his wealth as the co-founder of the healthcare technology firm athenahealth. However, the central characterization that this came from "a company that profited off abortion providers" is not supported by independent evidence. Athenahealth is a medical software, billing and management company that served about 116,000 physicians and, per the company and Bush's campaign, never provided medical services itself; Bush's earlier "Athena" venture operated maternity/birthing clinics, not abortion clinics. No independent source documents that any Bush company specifically profited from business with abortion providers, so the loaded framing is unsubstantiated even though the underlying self-funding is real.

Don’t take our framing on faith

See the whole picture — including where he told the truth.

This page focuses on where Bobby Charles bent the facts. Fairness cuts both ways: the complete, neutral fact-check rates all 75 of his claims about every opponent — and 46 of them came back true or mostly true. Read the full record and judge for yourself.

Open the complete neutral fact-check →

A candidate tells you who he’ll be by how he runs.

Charles didn’t need to twist these facts to make his case. He did it anyway. Someone who bends the truth to win a primary will bend it to govern.

Maine is choosing a governor at a moment when the plain truth is already hard to come by. The people Charles is misrepresenting are the very Republicans whose voters he’ll need. You don’t build trust by burning it.

Re-read the receipts ↑