Bobby Charles may have skipped Tuesday night’s debate featuring Republicans running for governor, but his presence was still felt as the six other candidates on stage lobbed attacks at him throughout the evening.

Charles, an attorney, consultant and former federal government official, led two public polls on the race earlier this year, and has pitched himself as a front-runner. There are seven candidates in the Republican primary to replace Gov. Janet Mills, who is term-limited.

The debate, hosted by WMTW, came a few days after the station hosted a similar event for Democrats. Charles was the only Republican to not participate, and his campaign released a written statement that was shown onscreen as the hourlong program kicked off.

“We have fully committed to spending what time remains between now and June 9th in the living rooms and meeting halls of Mainers all over the state, talking directly with them in their communities, addressing their questions and concerns,” the statement said.

That prompted a response from moderator Jon Chrisos, who added, “That’s exactly what we plan to do here this evening, with this statewide broadcast.”

Charles was an easy target for his fellow candidates during the first question of the evening, in which they were asked to describe differences between themselves and other candidates.

Former Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason said the difference between himself and Charles when it comes to budgeting “couldn’t be more stark,” arguing that as a lawmaker he worked to reduce costs while saying Charles’ past involvement in budgeting increased costs.

Ben Midgley, a former fitness franchise executive, hit Charles for his promise to cut $4 billion from the state budget.

“I don’t think that’s reasonable,” Midgley said. “There’s plenty of money to be saved, but not that much.”

Entrepreneur Jonathan Bush said “we need a CEO and not a lobbyist,” highlighting his own plans to cut $1 billion in income taxes.

“Bobby Charles says he’s going to cut $4 billion in taxes because he hasn’t run anything before,” Bush said. “He can make those kinds of lavish promises without having to deliver.”

Later in the evening, after answering a question about how to lower childcare costs, Mason asked his fellow candidates, “Do you guys wonder where Bobby is on all these things?”

“Wish he was here to answer some questions, but I think he might be in bed,” Mason added.

It’s unclear if skipping Tuesday’s debate will help or hurt Charles. An unscientific straw poll conducted among viewers and released at the end of the event had Midgley leading (694 votes), followed by Mason (587 votes) and then Charles (405 votes).

Also notable Tuesday night were the candidates’ answers to a question about whether they would use the ranked-choice voting process to rank their opponents in the Republican primary. The voting system, first used in Maine’s statewide elections in 2018, has historically been criticized by Republicans.

Every candidate on stage except for Mason said they would use it, while Mason said he would, “maybe.”

Another Democratic gubernatorial debate, hosted by CBS 13 and the Bangor Daily News, coincided with Tuesday’s Republican debate. The five Democrats hoping to succeed Mills continued to agree on various issues other than pointing out their different backgrounds and Angus King III saying he would have joined Mills in vetoing a data center moratorium. The other candidates have said they would have let the bill pass.

Staff Writer Billy Kobin contributed to this story.