Angus King III, son of the Maine senator, launches a run for governor

Angus King III, an energy executive and a son of independent Sen.

Angus King III, an energy executive and a son of independent Sen. Angus King Jr. of Maine, will run for governor as a Democrat, he announced Tuesday.  

King wants to follow in the footsteps of his father, who served two terms as governor from 1995 to 2003. And he’s vying to replace term-limited Gov. Janet Mills, the longtime Maine Democrat who has made national news in recent months tangling with President Donald Trump’s administration over policies for transgender athletes.  

In an interview with NBC News ahead of his announcement, King emphasized that, during his career in the private sector, he's been "building things that solve problems and help people."

"If you were ever going to do it, now is the time. Right now, people are struggling, are scared. We just have a host of challenges that make life really hard," King said of leaving private life, where he's worked on issues like renewable energy and affordable housing, to seek public office.

"Right now, I'm going to run for governor to build a better Maine."