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Hannah Pingree
June 10, 2025
It's official: Hannah Pingree enters 2026 Maine governor’s race
Less than a month after resigning from Gov. Janet Mills's administration, Hannah Pingree on Tuesday launched her run for governor of Maine with campaign events in Rockland, Lewiston, Biddeford and Portland.
At the time stepped down it was widely speculated that she would run for governor.
Pingree, daughter of U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine 1st District, will join at least three other Democratic candidates in the 2026 election.
She will vie against Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, former Senate President Troy Jackson and Angus King III, son of U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, in a June 2026 primary election. The general election is scheduled for Nov. 3, 2026.
“I am running for governor to bring Maine people together to do the hard things that none of us can do by ourselves,” said Pingree, a former speaker of the Maine House of Representatives. Most recently, she was director of the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future.
“As a state, we face real challenges — but I also know we have real opportunities,” she added. “I believe in Maine, and I believe in Mainers. I’m ready to travel the state to listen, to learn and to talk about how we can build a strong future for Maine.”
Pingree said her campaign will focus on challenges that matter most to Maine families and communities, including expanding access to affordable housing and health care and addressing the rising cost of living.
She was born in Belfast and raised on the island of North Haven. In 2002, at age 25, she was elected to the Maine House of Representatives. In 2008, she became the youngest woman in the nation — and the second in Maine history — to serve as speaker of the House.
Mill appointed her to lead the Office of Policy Innovation and the Future in 2019, calling Pingree "extraordinarily well-qualified." In the role, Pingree has led efforts to expand Maine’s housing supply and overseen the implementation of $35 million in funding for free and low-cost vocational training at Maine’s community colleges.
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