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He may run a firm that has lobbied in Washington, D.C., since the turn of the century, but in his bid to become Maine’s next governor, Republican Bobby Charles has said he is rejecting money from “Augusta lobbyists.”

Charles first made that pledge in June, when he called on Democrat Hannah Pingree and independent Rick Bennett to join him in also not accepting donations from Central Maine Power or “AI data center companies.”

He has occasionally left out the “Augusta” distinction, such as during an interview this summer. But he reiterated it in his latest digital ad, released Wednesday, in which he calls Augusta a “crime scene” and accuses Pingree and her family of profiting off her years leading Gov. Janet Mills’ policy and innovation office.

“I’m the only candidate in this race who has rejected Augusta lobbyist money,” Charles says in the ad.

But Charles has received money from lobbyists who live outside of Maine. He has received more than $13,000 in donations from current or former lobbyists and their family members, according to campaign finance records.

Still, Charles’ campaign, which has raised more than $1.8 million since launching last year, reiterated Wednesday that lobbyist donations to his campaign have not come from “Augusta lobbyists.”

That pledge has not changed the fact that Pingree, a former Maine House speaker from North Haven, has consistently led Charles by double digits in independent polling of the race to succeed Mills, a Democrat who is termed out of office after this year. Additionally, Charles has not received help from the Republican Governors Association in the form of ad spending — a sign that national leaders do not view the Maine race as very competitive.

Scrutiny over campaign donations across Maine’s high-profile races for the Blaine House, U.S. Senate and 2nd Congressional District is nothing new, though it ticked up this week when Pingree’s campaign said it would return $300 it received earlier this year from a former attorney for Jeffrey Epstein after the Portland Press Herald asked for comment on the donation.

Charles’ firm, The Charles Group, has lobbied on Capitol Hill for decades, though the Leeds lawyer and former assistant U.S. secretary of state says it mostly focuses on conducting studies, providing management guidance and evaluating performance for clients. Charles’ lobbying ties drew criticism even from his Republican primary opponents earlier this year, including Jonathan Bush, who dubbed him “Lobby Charles.”

Campaign finance records show he received contributions such as $4,150 from Van Hipp Jr. and his wife. Hipp Jr., a former South Carolina Republican Party chair, has a lobbying role as chair of American Defense International, a Washington-based consulting firm.

Among other donors, Rob Hartwell, a Virginia-based lobbyist and former chief of staff to several Republican members of Congress, chipped in $250. Bob Carlstrom, a former lobbyist who joined Charles in serving in former President Ronald Reagan’s administration, gave Charles more than $2,600. And Barry Caldwell, a former lobbyist for Cigna and other firms, donated $1,000.

Bennett, a former Maine Republican Party chair and state senator from Oxford who has been mired in the single digits in polls, and Pingree, who previously led Mills’ policy office and is the daughter of Democratic U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, mostly wrote off Charles’ pledge as performative. Each of them have received donations from people who work for lobbying firms that operate in Augusta, such as Preti Flaherty and Mitchell Tardy Jackson.

The lobbyist donations are not the only point of contention among the candidates. The Maine Democratic Party filed a complaint Thursday morning with the state’s ethics commission against Charles. The complaint said Charles reported 46 contributions totaling more than $25,000 over the legal contribution limit, including donors who gave thousands of dollars more than the $2,075 maximum amount allowed under law.

Charles gave the similar “no Augusta lobbyist” donations line in a campaign ad he released last week, featuring him and his daughter walking by apple trees while referring to Mills and Pingree as “Augusta’s bad apples.”

While not producing TV ads like Pingree, who has led the field in raising more than $4.2 million, Charles has projected confidence at his chances after he also used an array of lower-budget digital ads and social media videos to win a crowded Republican primary in June.

The three gubernatorial candidates will face off Thursday evening in a debate hosted by the Maine State Chamber of Commerce at Cross Insurance Arena in Portland.