Senator Rick Bennett is a Maine native and has family roots in Oxford County going back more than two centuries.

A former President of the Maine State Senate, he has 14 years of public service in the Senate and House where he earned a reputation as a reformer and staunch advocate for fiscal discipline, balanced budgets, term limits, governmental accountability, election integrity by limiting foreign influences, and Maine’s precious outdoor heritage.

Sen. Bennett represented western Maine for four terms in the Maine Senate from 1996 to 2004, and was elected again in 2020 before winning his second term in 2022. With a partisan tie in the Maine Senate in 2000 that many said would mean gridlock, he was elected unanimously as President of the Senate in a unique power-sharing agreement that gave a voice to every member, regardless of party. He also served two terms in the Maine House of Representatives from 1990 to 1994.

Sen. Bennett lives in Oxford with his wife, Karen, who works in the community as a home health therapist. Together they have two adult children, Abby and Nate, and one cat.