The Portland Press Herald credits Clean Elections with helping to create the largest field ever in the Maine gubernatorial race. Though it is expected that the presence of incumbent Gov. John Baldacci - running a privately financed campaign - could serve to make the race more expensive, the article cites the advantages of the public financing system.

The advantages are particularly clear to Republican candidate Chandler Woodcock, a state senator and public financing proponent who is running Clean: "Even if he could have raised enough money from contributors to wage a credible campaign, Woodcock said doing so would have taken up 75 percent of his time as a candidate. The way he figures it, that's time that can be better spent 'to acquaint yourself with people, to present yourself to them.'"