This story will be updated.
The chair of the Maine Democratic Party will not run for another term after he oversaw big wins for his party in the 2022 election.
Rep. Drew Gattine, D-Westbrook, took the reins of the party after he was termed out of his Maine House seat following eight years in office. Now that he’s been elected to the House again, he is forgoing a bid for a new term as party chair to focus on his legislative duties.
Party leadership elections take place on Jan. 22. Applications to chair the party will be accepted starting Monday, party spokesperson Jacob Stern said, with any registered Democrat in Maine eligible to run for that office along with other party roles.
“There are only so many days in the week and hours in the day,” Gattine said in a statement. “I owe it to the people of Saco, Scarborough and Westbrook to focus my energy on the important work ahead of us in the 131st legislative session.”
Among other roles, Gattine guided the Maine Democrats through a 2022 election in which the party was expected to lose ground, with one analysis predicting that the state could see some of the tightest legislative elections in the nation. That trajectory changed after the Supreme Court in June overturned a nearly five-decade-old precedent providing a constitutional right to abortion.
Maine Democrats made abortion rights an integral part of their campaign, with candidates — including Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who spoke frequently from her experience of living in Maine before Roe v. Wade — going on the attack and pushing GOP candidates into uncomfortable positions.
The focus helped propel Democrats to big wins, including larger-than-expected victories for Democrats Mills and U.S. Rep. Jared Golden. The party ultimately retained control of the governor’s office, both of the state’s U.S. House seats, and both chambers of the Maine Legislature.
While in the Maine House, Gattine served as chair of the powerful Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee. He also clashed with former Republican Gov. Paul LePage, who famously said he would like to challenge Gattine to a duel.
