Watch tonight's Maine gubernatorial debate at 8 p.m.

Oct. 4—All three candidates for governor will take the stage tonight at the Franco Center in Lewiston for the first in a series of debates before the Nov. 8 election.

The Portland Press Herald, Lewiston Sun Journal and Maine Public are sponsoring the event, which begins at 8 p.m. and will last 90 minutes. You can watch a livestream at pressherald.com and follow our fact checkers and analysts on the Press Herald's Twitter feed.

This is the first time Gov. Janet Mills, former Gov. Paul LePage and independent challenger Sam Hunkler will be on stage together to answer questions and debate policies.

Mills and LePage are among Maine's best known politicians. Before she became governor, Mills served as the Attorney General for six out of LePage's eight years in office. The two battled in the press, in the courtroom and in behind-the-scenes memos about policy and the role of the AG, who is appointed by the Legislature.

Hunkler, by contrast, is unknown to Maine voters. The debate provides the physician from Beals an opportunity to introduce himself to voters.

So far, the campaign has been relatively subdued except for the numerous television ads aired by Mills, LePage and their allies. Tuesday's debate could change all of that.

Leveraging her incumbency, Mills has largely eschewed campaign events, opting instead to conduct the business of being governor, visiting businesses and communities throughout the state to announce various grants and new programs. She has been emphasizing collaboration and bipartisanship, releasing a new campaign ad Tuesday featuring Republicans, including state Sen. Kim Rosen and former state Sen. Roger Katz, who support her campaign.

She has rallied with abortion rights demonstrators and last week held a press conference to announce Sen. Angus King's support for her campaign.

Mills' campaign seems to be deferring to the Maine Democratic Party to take on her major opponent, and it has hammered LePage in a series of press releases seeking to remind voters of LePage's volatile temperament and policies.

LePage, meanwhile, has been on the attack, holding a series of press conferences hitting Mills on the economy, inflation, opioid addiction, crime and education. He has previously criticized Mills' handling during the pandemic.

LePage also has the support of the Maine Republican Party and the Republican Governor's Association, which has paid for ads attacking Mills.

Mills has raised more than twice the amount of campaign donations as LePage, while also benefiting from millions of dollars in spending from outside groups attacking her Republican opponents.

This story will be updated.