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Emily Cain lives in Orono, served in the Maine legislature from 2004-2014, and was the executive director of EMILY’s List from 2017-2023.
I’ve been waiting 20 years for Hannah Pingree to run for governor. The wait is over.
I’m ranking Hannah number 1 on my primary ballot this June, and I’m asking every Maine Democrat and independent to join me.
Hannah and I go way back, and I mean that literally. We were both elected to the Maine House of Representatives in our mid-twenties, over two decades ago, the only women in that age group serving in Augusta then. That tells you something about the world we came up in.
It also tells you something about Hannah, because she thrived. I had a front row seat as she took on chemical companies poisoning Maine kids and won, led the fight for marriage equality, and as Speaker of the House worked across the aisle to balance budgets during some of Maine’s hardest economic years.
That was then. But Hannah never stopped.
She took her leadership home to North Haven, chairing her school board, tackling housing and childcare, delivering for her community the same way she always has: sleeves rolled up, focused on results. All while raising two awesome kids.
As the head of Gov. Janet Mills’ Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, she has been on the front lines of Maine’s most urgent challenges: the opioid crisis, storm preparedness, housing, energy costs. Hannah has spent her entire career making Maine’s future her business.
What stands out to me about Hannah isn’t ideology or performance politics. It’s that at every turn, she has taken on hard problems and delivered results. This is someone who has been in the arena, at every level, and is ready to take it to the next level for Maine.
I know there are talented Democrats in this race, and I know a lot of voters are still deciding. So let me answer the questions I get asked most.
Why Hannah? Because she is the only candidate in this field who I think has it all. The values, the record, the toughness and the clearest path to win. That last part matters. In a year this consequential, Democrats need a nominee who can build a broad coalition and win in November. I believe Hannah is that winner.
Can she win with an independent on the ballot? Yes. Unequivocally. Hannah has already built a coalition in this primary that crosses party lines, Democrats, Republicans, and independents who trust her. I believe that coalition only grows in the fall. She knows how to run a people-powered campaign, and she has the resources to do it. Watch.
Are you ranking anyone else? That’s between me and my ballot. What I’ll say is this: Look at the field, make your own choices, and remember you don’t have to rank anyone you don’t believe in.
For six years I led EMILY’s List, the nation’s largest organization dedicated to electing Democratic, pro-choice women to office. I have also run myself, twice, in tough congressional races that I didn’t win. I know what it costs to put yourself out there. I know what toughness looks like in a woman who refuses to be underestimated, and I know the difference between someone who talks about fighting and someone who actually does it.
2026 is the hardest political environment I have ever seen. National politics are growing more chaotic, more expensive, and more disconnected from the realities facing working families. The U.S. Senate race is pulling in tens of millions of dollars and dominating national headlines. And underneath all of it, Maine people are struggling to afford gas, food, healthcare, and a place to live.
In times like these, hope can feel naive, but I don’t think it is. I believe hope backed by a battle-tested leader who has spent her life delivering results is exactly what Maine needs right now.
I believe Hannah Pingree is that leader. She is something new, shaped by decades of real fights, ready for the ones ahead, and completely her own.
Join me. Rank Hannah number 1.
