Nonpartisan, Maine-built site now online with candidate and statement overviews ahead of gubernatorial outreach for its comparison feature
PORTLAND, Maine — Nov. 15, 2025 — Pine Tree Key, a nonpartisan voter-education project built in Maine, announced that its website is now live for the 2026 election cycle. The site offers an overview of all gubernatorial, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House candidates running in Maine, along with a full list of gubernatorial policy statements, FAQs, and supporting materials to help voters prepare for the upcoming races.
The launch marks the first phase of Pine Tree Key's work ahead of its planned voter-candidate comparison tool for Maine's 2026 gubernatorial race.
Before you can compare candidates, you need a clear view of who is running and what the big questions are,” said founder Daniela Kloeckner. “This first release is about giving Mainers a transparent starting point: the candidates, the issues, and what kinds of answers they can expect to see once campaigns respond to our outreach.”
The live site currently includes:
- An overview of all declared candidates for Governor, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House in Maine
- The complete list of plain-language statements that will form the basis of the gubernatorial comparison tool
- A Frequently Asked Questions section explaining how statements are chosen and how future comparisons will work
- An About section detailing Pine Tree Key's mission, approach, and nonpartisan commitment
- Terms & Conditions and policy information outlining privacy, data use, and methodology
The gubernatorial statement set allows voters to familiarize themselves with the topics that will be used in the upcoming comparison feature and to see in advance which kinds of answers they can expect from candidates.
With the information hub now live, Pine Tree Key is beginning its formal outreach to gubernatorial campaigns to gather their views on the statement set. Responses will be incorporated into a voter-matching feature that will allow users to compare their own positions with those of each candidate for Governor.
“Every gubernatorial campaign will receive the same statement set and the same opportunity to respond,” Kloeckner said. “Our goal is to present those answers in a way that's fair, accessible, and easy to verify—so voters can see where candidates stand in their own words.”
The project does not sell ads or accept paid placements and is designed to be free to use and transparent about its process. Documentation on how statements, categories, and candidate lists are assembled is available directly on the site.
Voters, journalists, and civic organizations can learn more or follow updates at pinetreekey.com.
Media Contact
Pine Tree Key
Daniela Kloeckner, Founder
info@pinetreekey.com | pinetreekey.com
About Pine Tree Key
Pine Tree Key is a nonpartisan, Maine-built voter guide that turns candidate statements into clear, side-by-side comparisons. The site is free to use, ad-free, and designed for accessibility and transparency.