BANGOR, Maine — Hundreds headed to Bangor for the Maine Democratic Convention as delegates and candidates look toward the election in November.
Things got underway Friday afternoon, with a packed agenda carrying into Saturday. Several political leaders were slated to speak to the crowd, including Maine Gov. Janet Mills, U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, Maine Speaker of the House Rachel Talbot Ross, and more.
Coming from Washington D.C., many were anticipating a keynote discussion by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, who is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna and the first Native American to serve in the cabinet.
"There's a wide range [of representatives] from all over the state, and just a wide variety of socioeconomic diversity throughout the entire process," Maine Democratic Party Chair Bev Uhlenhake said. "We all share the same values, we share perspectives, and it's great to be in the same room."
This year, several seats are up for grabs at the Maine state house and in the U.S. Senate. Candidates running for Congressional District 2 includes Rep. Jared Golden, who will be facing the eventual Republican candidate of either Rep. Mike Soboleski or Rep. Austin Theriault.
Uhlenhake said key issues for the platform that are already being discussed at the convention center around inclusiveness and gender justice, affordable housing, and more.
"There are a whole lot of kitchen table issues that we all talk about. It's the economy, it's our education system, it's about making sure we're doing the best thing we can for working families," Uhlenhake said.
Maine's primary election will be held June 11.