The campaign of Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) will officially begin circulating petitions to run for Senate. Incumbent Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) announced her retirement from the Senate yesterday.
“Running for the Senate isn’t something I had been thinking of,” Pingree said in a statement. “But this is an incredibly important election for Maine and the country. We need to continue to fight to protect health care for women, create clean energy jobs here in Maine and create an economy that works for the middle class. I’ve been honored by the outpouring of support from around the state and around the country and am carefully considering if I should run for the Senate from Maine.”
While it’s not an official announcement, partisan candidates for Senate in Maine have to collect 2,000 signatures from registered party voters by March 15th, so those considering a run have to start the process now. The campaign of Rep. Mike Michaud (D-ME), the representative from Maine’s other district, confirmed to TPM this morning that it is also collecting signatures in case he runs.
