PORTLAND (NEWS CENTER Maine) — Incumbent Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat, has won her sixth term as Maine's 1st Congressional District, possibly helping her party nab the majority in the House this midterm election.
Rep. Pingree beat Democrat-turned-independent Marty Grohman, a state senator, and Republican Mark Holbrook, who ran against Pingree in 2016 and lost.
Pingree has been representing Maine's 1st District for a decade, which covers the southern coastal area of the state including Cumberland, Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc, and York counties along with most of Kennebec County. Prior to the 2018 election, Pingree was just one of 84 women representatives, which made up less than 20 percent of U.S. House.
Pingree was born in Minnesota but moved to Maine as a teen. She would later attend the University of Southern Maine and graduate from College of the Atlantic. The small island community of North Haven lured Pingree and she has lived and run a business there for several decades.
Pingree says her priority in the U.S. House is health care. She recently sponsored a bill to help Americans get cheaper prescription drugs from Canada and hopes new laws will be enacted to make health care more affordable. To reach this goal Pingree says she tries to work with Republicans she may disagree on some issues with.
Pingree has been openly critical of President Trump.
“We have cabinet secretaries, in my opinion, who are there to decimate the department whether its environmental protection or education. There are a lot of people who are frustrated.”
The mother of three co-owns an inn and restaurant, the Nebo Lodge, with her daughter and has a farm that has raised everything from dairy cows to vegetables. She hopes improving the Affordable Care Act will help all Mainers but especially farmers who are dear to her heart.
