AUGUSTA (AP) — Five Mainers have formally registered as candidates for governor next year, but others are leaving the door open to the idea.

What is known for sure is that the incumbent, Republican Paul LePage, is in, and independent Eliot Cutler is on board to seek a rematch against LePage, whom he almost beat in 2010.

Others who have registered for governor with the state’s election-oversight agency are Alex Hammer, of Bangor, an independent whose 2010 race for governor was kept off the ballot by the courts; Democrat Stephen Woods, who ran unsuccessfully as an independent for U.S. Senate in 2012; and Democrat David Slagger, who represented the Maliseet Indians in the Legislature last term.

John Baldacci, a congressman before winning two terms as governor, has also expressed interest in taking on LePage but has taken no formal steps. Karen Mills, President Barack Obama’s former small business administrator, has been mentioned as a potential candidate.

The big question is whether Democratic five-term U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud will abandon his 2nd District seat and run. A familiar figure in Augusta where he served decades in the Legislature, Michaud’s entry would trigger a stampede for his congressional seat and likely defuse a Democratic gubernatorial primary.

About a dozen figures from both parties are said to be interested should Michaud walk away from his House seat. Michaud, meanwhile, is keeping his options open.

“He is seriously considering” a run for governor, said Peter Chandler, the congressman’s chief of staff. Chandler said the ultimate decision will be made on the basis of where Michaud thinks he can have more of an impact, Augusta or Washington.

Michaud this year was elevated to ranking member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee. Not only has the former paper worker from East Millinocket taken a strong interest in veterans’ issues for years, but the committee has turned out to be “one of the few bright spots in Washington” where members of both parties do their jobs without partisan rancor, Chandler said.

Michaud hasn’t set a deadline to make up his mind on a run, “but he’ll make that decision for himself sooner rather than later,” Chandler said.

A no would likely leave as the big question: Who will his GOP congressional opponent be? A yes would likely open the field of candidates in both parties.

Some names that have surfaced on the Democratic side include Joe Baldacci, brother of the former governor, who has said he’d be interested if Michaud runs for governor; state Attorney General Janet Mills, no relation to Karen Mills; former state senator Dennis Damon; state Sen. Emily Cain; and Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap.

“My name’s in the mix but not confirmed,” said Dunlap, who lost a primary in the 2012 U.S. Senate race.

Republicans mentioned include former Maine Senate President Kevin Raye, whom Michaud bas beaten twice in U.S. House races; former state Sen. Debra Plowman; Rick Bennett, a familiar GOP figure who shared the state Senate presidency with Michaud in 2001-02, when neither party gained a majority; and former state lawmakers Josh Tardy, Richard Rosen and Carol Weston.