Bangor Daily News
Maine news, sports, politics, election results, and obituaries
The year 2024 was a busy one for politics in Maine, with high-stakes elections, legislative responses to the Lewiston mass shooting and local housing debates among the many notable events.
2025 may feel slower with no major elections on tap, but there are plenty of developments in store as the Maine Legislature returns in January for a new session and contenders for higher offices with 2026 openings start to make moves. Sudden events could also shake up Maine’s political scene.
Here are Maine politicians and officials to keep an eye on in 2025, ranging from folks with plenty of name recognition to lesser-known leaders involved in key debates on big problems.
Democratic lawmakers picked House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, to once again lead the lower chamber after he previously held the gavel from 2020 to 2022 before leaving office and then running unopposed for his former seat in November.
Fecteau must navigate a 76-73 advantage for Democrats over Republicans in the House, with two independents. Numerous tight votes are likely in store for a chamber that has seen marathon voting sessions that have turned much more heated than those down the hall.
There are rumblings in Augusta about how Fecteau, 32, is also planning to introduce ambitious housing proposals in 2025 after he authored a landmark 2022 housing law requiring Maine municipalities to adopt standards related to affordable housing and zoning. Maine’s housing crisis remains a top issue, and Fecteau will continue to serve as a key player.
Yes, Maine’s top Republican is among the names that previously appeared on this annual list. She is still a figure who draws criticism from the right for not fully getting behind President-elect Donald Trump and from those on the left who say she enables Trump by not opposing him more forcefully.
But look for U.S. Sen. Susan Collins to tout how much money she wins for the state as she takes over the Senate Appropriations Committee following Republicans winning back control of the chamber in the November election to give themselves a governing trifecta in Congress.
In that role, she is also going to have to represent her party’s interests. Mainers will follow her votes on Trump’s controversial nominees. Allies of the president-elect are signaling potential primaries for anyone who stands in their way. Democrats are already eyeing another run at Collins in 2026. She has survived so far, but the next two years bring another set of tests.
Bangor has offered plenty of examples of how officials are responding to the state’s housing crisis and efforts to alleviate homelessness, and Bangor City Council Chair Cara Pelletier will continue to play an important role in Maine’s third-largest city.
Pelletier, who was elected to the council in 2022 and is entering her second year as chair, said expanding and improving Bangor’s housing stock and incentivizing commercial development to help balance out the property tax burden for homeowners are among her priorities. Closing a large homeless camp in a city amid other local issues will keep Pelletier and councilors busy.
He’s not an elected official. He may not have much name recognition, but Tarlan Ahmadov deserves a mention after Gov. Janet Mills appointed him as the first-ever leader of Maine’s Office of New Americans. The native of Azerbaijan was the state refugee coordinator with Catholic Charities Maine from 2017 to 2022 and works for the labor department now.
With support from immigrant advocacy groups and the state chamber of commerce, Mills unveiled in early 2024 the plan for the new office that is tasked with “making Maine a home of opportunity for all” in order to “build a strong and inclusive economy.”
Ahmadov will lead an office that will operate amid President-elect Donald Trump vowing to conduct mass deportations. The office coincides with a 10-year economic development strategy identifying a need for Maine to add 75,000 people from inside and outside of Maine to its workforce by 2030.
U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, is another familiar name on this annual list, and the Democrat won a fourth term by narrowly beating state Rep. Austin Theriault, R-Fort Kent, to continue his rare status as a Democrat in the pro-Trump 2nd District.
Golden has proposed various ambitious electoral reforms along with reiterating his focus on “place-based politics” and local issues. But one big reason Golden is someone to watch in 2025 is because he is likely running for governor in 2026.
The congressman has so far brushed aside questions about his political future. But his allies are touting his appeal in a statewide race, even though it’s fair to wonder how strong he would be in a Democratic primary after Golden has repeatedly tweaked the progressive base with his criticism of and high-profile votes against outgoing President Joe Biden.
Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, is another rumored gubernatorial candidate, a nod to her prolific fundraising abilities and leadership of The Dinner Table, a political action committee. Libby’s group and its affiliates have received support from conservative activist Leonard Leo and are suing Maine in a bid to strike down voter-approved limits on PAC donations.
Libby’s name may also arise in 2025 if her group succeeds in putting a voter ID referendum on the ballot to require Mainers provide photo identification at polling places, something that polls well in most states. If they are victorious, she could put her name on a rare Republican accomplishment during a time of full Democratic control.
Biddeford Mayor Marty Grohman has led the southern Maine city since 2023 after serving as a state representative and running unsuccessfully for Congress in 2018. While Biddeford news may not interest people in all corners of Maine, the mayor shows the power that local officials wield tackling the state’s housing and workforce issues.
Grohman made moves in 2024 to bring a $30 million affordable housing development to Biddeford after voters in Cumberland rejected a similar project from the same developer. Other officials may look to this mayor for lessons when considering new proposals in 2025.
Hannah Pingree, a former Maine House speaker whose mother is U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree of the 1st District, has influence over housing, energy and other key issues as director of the governor’s policy office. She is another person to watch for a potential gubernatorial bid, since she is well-liked in high places of Democratic politics in Maine.
Pingree’s work may not always garner publicity, but a big chunk of it revolves around tackling the state’s underproduction of housing and renewable energy projects that will help Maine reach its climate goals. The political and financial challenges surrounding offshore wind alongside Maine’s ongoing housing crisis will keep Pingree occupied in 2025, and the policies favored by her office and the Mills administration will factor heavily into legislative debates.
Billy Kobin is a politics reporter who joined the Bangor Daily News in 2023. He grew up in Wisconsin and previously worked at The Indianapolis Star and The Courier Journal (Louisville, Ky.) after graduating… More by Billy Kobin
