PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree’s campaign said Monday she’s considering a run for Maine governor.
Pingree’s spokesman, Jesse Connolly, said the Democratic congresswoman will decide whether to join the 2018 race by the end of December. Nearly two dozen hopefuls have registered to run for governor, and Pingree would join 10 Democratic candidates.
Republican Gov. Paul LePage cannot seek re-election because of Maine’s term limits law.
Pingree, a progressive Democrat, has represented Maine’s 1st Congressional District since 2009. Pingree said Democratic groups and supporters are asking her to run. It’s a tough decision as she nears a decade of seniority in Congress, she said.
“It’s a little harder when you’re giving up a congressional seat at a time when it seems more important than ever to be in Washington and to be fighting back against things I don’t agree with,” Pingree said.
Pingree has received steady support from voters in the state’s southern, liberal-leaning 1st Congressional district, but she said she feels a strong attachment to rural communities across the state.
“There are a lot of people who want to make sure we have a Democratic governor, a strong governor who can do undo some of the damages or differences we’ve had with the current governor,” she said.
The former organic farmer served in the Maine Senate from 1992 to 2000 and served as Senate majority leader. She focused on campaign finance reform issues as the head of the national progressive group Common Cause, and opposed the war in Iraq.
She has often criticized Republican President Donald Trump and his policy positions. Pingree unsuccessfully ran to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins in 2002 but lost her bid.
Pingree won re-election to Congress with 58 percent of the vote in 2016. She is a member of the U.S. House appropriations committee, where she has focused on agricultural and rural issues.
LePage’s predecessor, Democrat John Baldacci, became governor after serving four terms in Congress. Former Maine U.S. Rep Mike Michaud, a Democrat, lost his 2014 bid to unseat LePage.
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