AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross has filed to run for an open state Senate seat in the November election.
Talbot Ross, a Democrat from Portland, formalized her campaign in late January. She is in her first term as speaker but her fourth and final one in the House due to term limits. Talbot Ross is running for the seat now held by Sen. Ben Chipman, D-Portland, who is also facing term limits.
She is the first Black speaker in Maine history, standing out as one of the most progressive lawmakers in Augusta, championing a tribal-rights expansion and gun control items that have put her at odds with Gov. Janet Mills and a more centrist group of Democrats.
She has also raised eyebrows at times with her tactics and remarks. Mills’ office rebuked Talbot Ross in May after the speaker tried to tie her support of the governor’s budget to Mills backing tribal rights. A few weeks later, she suggested allies should “storm the capitol” over the Mills administration’s implementation of her Black history law.
Talbot Ross’ move comes at a time of churn at the top of the Maine Senate. The No. 1 and 2 Democrats in the chamber, Senate President Troy Jackson of Allagash and Senate Majority Leader Eloise Vitelli of Arrowsic, are also barred from running again for their seats in 2024.
The Maine Senate seat representing Portland is the safest Democratic seat in the chamber, effectively making the June primary the deciding election. No other Democrats have filed to run for the seat. Four-time Republican legislative candidate Susan Abercrombie is also running. She got less than 13 percent of votes while running against Chipman in 2022.
