primaries

Shah, who lives in Brunswick, was the public face of Maine's response to the COVID pandemic and also held the second-highest position at the U.S. CDC for two years until President Donald Trump regained office.

While the two Democrats with the most robust campaigns said they planned to stay in the race, at least one candidate has already dropped out. Meanwhile, the reaction from the political parties in DC highlights the national spotlight on the race for Maine Sen. Susan Collins' seat.

Daira Rodriguez-Smith, who lives in Biddeford, vowed to bring her auditing and financial accountability skills to DC if elected. She is one of eight Democrats — with more potentially coming — hoping to challenge Collins next fall.

Rep. Tiffany Roberts, D-South Berwick, says she formed an exploratory committee to gauge whether Democrats in the 1st Congressional District want a choice during the June 2026 primary.

Louis Sigel of Gardiner is a former secretary for the Kennebec County Democratic Committee who is critical of Golden's stance on Israel as well as some of his votes that bucked his own party in D.C.

David Costello, who also ran for the U.S. Senate last year, worked for several decades for federal and state agencies. He joins several other Democrats seeking the nomination to run against Collins in November 2026.

A Patten native, McCarthy is running as a political outsider and vowing to focus on ways to reduce everyday costs for Mainers.

Hannah Pingree, a former Maine House Speaker and the daughter of U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, announced Tuesday morning that she is running for governor.

Denise Tepler, a former state lawmaker from Topsham, maintained her narrow lead over Jean Guzzetti after a hand-recount in the Democratic primary.

Republicans chose their congressional hopefuls while Democrats had a few interesting State House primary races around the state.