Want the latest political news? Subscribers of Pocket Politics get breaking news and analysis on their phones before the stories go anywhere else. Text POLITICS to 207-288-7412 to get in. First two weeks are free, $3.99/month after that. Cancel any time. All links to the site are free.
AUGUSTA, Maine — Former Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree announced Thursday she will leave her job as head of Gov. Janet Mills’ policy office ahead of a rumored campaign to replace the term-limited governor in 2026.
Pingree’s impending departure from the Democratic governor’s office was well-known among insiders. It is seen as a precursor to a gubernatorial campaign that she has not acknowledged publicly despite being mentioned repeatedly as a top-tier candidate.
She has quietly operated in the State House at the helm of an Office of Innovation and the Future that the Democratic governor rebranded in 2019. Pingree, the daughter of U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine’s 1st District, has been one of Mills’ most trusted advisers on a large portfolio of key issues from housing to renewable energy.
A Thursday statement from the governor’s office included a long list of accomplishments and quotes from advocates in support of Pingree, a 48-year-old from North Haven who has been a favorite of environmental groups since her lone term as speaker from 2008 and 2010.
Help us raise $40,000 to fund the BDN’s civic news mission this spring. Learn why we are asking and how to give.
“She and her team … have exceeded my expectations at every step, and I look forward to watching her do great things for Maine in the years to come,” Mills said in a statement.
Pingree addressed her future in the statement only by saying she will “explore new opportunities” and will “remain relentlessly focused on the future of the state we all love.”
Many close to Mills have referred to Pingree the “lieutenant governor.” Her office designed a $60 million storm relief package passed in 2024. It also ran point on offshore wind, long-term energy planning and the state’s effort to both quantify and fight the housing affordability crisis.
The results on those long-term issues are mixed. President Donald Trump’s opposition has clouded the future of offshore wind development. Maine has smashed heat pump goals, but it has also seen some of the nation’s highest increases in electricity prices over the past decade. Despite historic state investments in housing, the state is lagging a 2030 production goal.
Pingree would join a field of Democrats that includes Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and former energy executive Angus King III, the son and namesake of Maine’s junior U.S. senator. Former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson has said he is exploring a run.
A large field of Republican contenders is likely. The Democratic nominee will be running against history, since Maine has not consecutively elected governors of the same party since the 1950s. But the state has taken a turn toward them in the past decade, buoying Democratic hopes of holding the Blaine House after controlling Augusta for Mills’ entire tenure.