Midcoast Villager
Athenahealth cofounder Jonathan Bush, who has been actively exploring a run for governor, is preparing to make a “major announcement” in Belfast next week.
Bush has been building to this announcement for months. He formed an exploratory committee for governor in June and launched a podcast called Maine for Keeps that bills itself as “a movement to ensure the American Dream is alive and well right here in Maine.”
The event, scheduled for Wednesday, October 8, at 4 p.m., will take place on the campus of Athenahealth, which Bush started in 1997 and helped grow in a multi-billion-dollar company as its CEO before stepping down in 2018. It was most recently sold for $17 billion in 2022.
Bush, who was raised in New York City, moved the company’s operation center to Belfast in 2008, creating 1,000 jobs in Midcoast Maine, his allies say.
Bush would be the latest member of his famous Republican family to enter politics. He is a cousin of former President George W. Bush and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, nephew of former President George H.W. Bush, and brother of TV personality Billy Bush.
George W. and Jeb hosted a fundraiser for Jonathan at the family’s compound in Kennebunkport in August.
Assuming Bush runs as a Republican, he would join a large field of other Republicans looking to replace Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who is prevented from running for reelection by term limits.