David Costello
Candidate, U.S. Senate (ME) · Democratic · Maine
David Costello, the 2024 Democratic Senate nominee and a former Maryland environment official from Brunswick, is seeking the 2026 replacement nomination at the Democratic convention.
Profile last updated Jul 13, 2026 · Center Field Politics
Scout's Report
A persistent, policy-heavy centrist making his third consecutive Senate run on a reform-minded, middle-class platform.
Core Strength
Deep governmental policy experience and two statewide campaigns’ worth of name familiarity.
Core Weakness
Took 8% in the June primary and polls near zero among convention delegates.
Recent Action
Declared for the July 25 Democratic special nominating convention.
Key Metrics
- Reliability
- N/A
- Documented Controversies
- 0
- Funding Secured
- N/A
- Outside Influence
- Low
No roll-call record available for a non-incumbent.
Official ethics findings or court records only.
No appropriations history for a non-incumbent candidate.
Derived from PAC and outside-spending share of campaign funding.
Where They Stand
Stances on the issues many voters care most about. Where a candidate has not given a clear answer we mark it "Mixed / Partial" or "Unclear" rather than guess. Positions are drawn from official records and bias-labeled news sources; they are descriptive only and are never scored.
Environment—Supports3
Climate protections and regulation versus fewer climate-related regulations on industry.
A former state environment official who centers climate policy in his platform.
Healthcare—Supports3
Expanding healthcare coverage for all versus expanding market-based, private insurance.
Supports expanded affordable coverage for working families.
Second Amendment—Supports3
New firearm regulations versus no new firearm regulations.
Supports expanded background checks.
Immigration—Supports3
Pathways to citizenship versus a closed-border approach.
Backs comprehensive reform with legal pathways.
Roe v. Wade—Supports3
Protecting access to abortion versus restricting access to abortion.
Supports abortion-rights protections.
National Security—Unclear3
Whether diplomacy or military strength should be the primary national-security priority.
No documented public position on U.S. military action against Iran in the current snapshot.
Campaign Funding
Raised $150K for the 2026 cycle. Outside influence read: low; opacity proxy 0%.
Total raised (cycle 2026): $149,655 · Outside influence: Low
Party Loyalty
No voting record yet; loyalty cannot be measured.