State Rep. Tiffany Roberts, D-South Berwick, is challenging U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree to a 2026 primary in Maine’s 1st Congressional District.
Roberts, 45, filed paperwork to run for the seat on Tuesday, a day before she planned a launch event in her hometown. She hinted at a primary bid in September by saying she wanted to see if voters want “a different voice” in Congress.
The move stands out because Pingree, a 70-year-old progressive from North Haven, has cruised to reelection without facing primaries after first getting elected to the reliably liberal 1st District in 2008. Roberts enters the race as a longshot given the incumbent’s longtime hold on the seat and her standing in the party.
In an interview, Roberts emphasized that her campaign is not so much focused on opposing Pingree but rather part of offering something different than the incumbent in the “movement for a younger kind of generation.”
“It’s about building the bridges to pipelines of younger generations that want to serve as well,” she said.
Pingree said in a statement she has “always believed that in a democracy, no one is entitled to a seat” before adding the nation is “facing a renewed and increasingly extreme Trump administration.”
“I have been a consistent and outspoken voice against that agenda, and Mainers know they can count on me to keep standing up to it, because the challenges we face demand experienced, effective leaders who deliver more than campaign promises,” Pingree said.
Roberts’ entrance means the state’s two Democratic incumbents in the U.S. House will each face primaries in 2026. U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, a 2nd District centrist from Lewiston, must beat Maine State Auditor Matt Dunlap of Old Town in the June primary for the chance to take on former Republican Gov. Paul LePage in the November election.
Roberts, a mother of three who runs her own digital marketing business, is serving her fourth term in the Maine House of Representatives and is barred under term limits from seeking next year another consecutive term in the Legislature. Roberts, who represents parts of South Berwick and North Berwick by the New Hampshire border, chairs the Legislature’s Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee and also serves on its housing committee.
Roberts has been near the center of her caucus in the Democratic-controlled Legislature at times. Her proposals in recent years have covered everything from requiring home contractors to be licensed in the wake of several fraud scandals to attempting to overturn parts of the “right to repair” referendum that Maine voters overwhelmingly approved in 2023.