As of early Wednesday morning, here were the local winners of the Maine House and Senate seats.
Senate District 32
Incumbent state Sen. Henry Ingwersen was re-elected to represent Senate District 32.
With 99% of the vote counted, Ingwersen, a Democrat, had defeated Jason Litalien, an Independent, the Associated Press reported on Nov. 4. Senate District 32 covers Arundel, Biddeford, Dayton, Hollis and part of Lyman.
Ingwersen was elected to the Maine House of Representatives in 2018 and to the Maine Senate in 2022. He is serving his second term in the Maine Senate. He is chair of the Health and Human Services Committee and serves on the Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry Committee.
Ingwersen and his wife Christine are beekeepers on a family farm in Arundel.
He said in a Q&A with The Local News that he is running for re-election because of the Trump Administration’s policies and executive orders such as the Big Beautiful Bill, tariffs, the Iran war and ICE practices.
“Even though these are federal mistakes, I will do what I have always done as a state senator: I will take what I glean from listening to the concerns of constituents in my district and work with my fellow lawmakers, our new governor, and public interest groups to create sensible legislation,” he said.
As top priorities, he listed making healthcare affordable and addressing food insecurity.
Litalien, a Biddeford native, served 13 years in the U.S. Air Force, owned a bar and restaurant for six years, and is an attorney.
Senate District 34
Incumbent Dan Sayre, a Democrat, defeated challenger Jonathan Fallon, a Republican, to retain the Senate District 34 seat.
The AP predicted Sayre to win with 99% of votes counted. Senate District 34 covers Berwick, Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, North Berwick and Wells.
Sayre is serving his second term in the Maine House of Representatives. He serves as the House Chair of the Taxation Committee. He serves as co-chair of the bipartisan Innovation and Growth Caucus and the Maine-Canadian Legislative Advisory Commission, his website states.
Before entering the legislature, he spent 35 years in book publishing, working in scientific and technical fields creating content for professionals and college students. He then became a consultant.
Sayre lives in Kennebunk with his wife. Four generations of his family, ranging in age from one to 94, live in southern Maine.
He said in a Q&A with The Local News that he’s running for the state senate to help build a stronger economy and address affordability. He said he would bring people together across traditional divides and bring “the same pragmatic commitment to the Senate that I’ve shown in the House.”
He said he would continue to support measures that stimulate business growth and high-wage job creation; implement a property tax reform agenda; and work to reduce the tax burden on working- and middle-class Mainers. He said he would tackle Maine’s housing crisis by speeding up permitting in designated growth areas and expanding state investment in affordable housing. He also listed as a priority sustaining funding for public education, from pre-K through university.
Fallon is a native of New Hampshire and now a West Kennebunkport resident. He is a partner at a Kennebunk law firm. He serves in the U.S. Air Force Reserve as a JAG officer. He previously was deployed in the Middle East during the Afghanistan withdrawal and earned the Army combat patch while serving as legal advisor to a Special Operations Joint Task Force.
House District 134
Incumbent Traci Gere, a Democrat, defeated Allen Daggett, an Independent, to retain the House District 134 seat.
The AP called the race with 99% of the vote counted. House District 134 covers Kennebunkport and parts of Biddeford and Kennebunk.
Gere has served three terms in the Maine House after being first elected in 2020. She is the House chair of the legislature’s Housing and Economic Development Committee. Her areas of policy focus include housing, sustainable economic and community development, workforce development and apprenticeships.
Gere has spent over 30 years in research and marketing in the high-tech and consumer goods industries, owned and managed a retail store, and currently works in strategy and development consulting, according to the Maine House website.
She said in a Q&A with The Local News that her focus during six years in the legislature has been on helping people to live and work in Maine by advancing legislation to improve access to education and job training, returning state revenue sharing to municipalities, and supporting business growth and innovation.
She said she would continue this work by pushing for policies that protect coastal resources and support sustainable communities; create more opportunities for home ownership; and help businesses and organizations grow and stay in Maine.
Daggett is a native of Kennebunkport who started lobstering at the age of 12, his website states. He now owns and operates three local seafood businesses: Cape Porpoise Lobster Company, Cape Pier Chowder House, and Cape Porpoise Bait Company. Daggett has served on the Kennebunk Select Board for 20 years.
House District 135
Lisa Joy Pratt, a Democrat, defeated Scott Craig, an Independent for the House District 135 seat.
The AP called the race with 99% of the vote counted. The district covers part of Kennebunk.
Pratt’s campaign website says she grew up in a small New England town, and she and her husband chose to settle in Kennebunk because they wanted their children to grow up within access to the outdoors and rooted in a community.
Before moving to Maine, Pratt spent 15 years working in a Level 1 trauma center.
She has served on the Kennebunk Select Board for two terms. That experience made her realize that decisions made in Augusta shape the daily lives of Mainers, she said.
She also served on the Kennebunk Climate Action Plan Task Force, and two terms on the York County Budget Committee. She said she views climate change — and its impact on the coast, the economy and Maine’s future — as the biggest challenge of elected leaders.
She said in a Q&A with The Local News that priorities in her first term would include climate action and supporting investments in climate resilience, conservation, and sustainable infrastructure while helping municipalities implement their climate action plans. Another priority is addressing food insecurity. Pratt said she would work to strengthen food recovery programs, support local food networks, and improve access to nutritious food for residents. Another priority is expanding municipal revenue options. Pratt said she would explore a local option sales tax or other mechanisms that allow municipalities to diversify revenue sources and reduce reliance on property taxes.
Craig, of Kennebunk, is a retired Amazon executive who spent his career in logistics and supply chain. He said in a Q&A with The Local News that he’s running to bring a sense of optimism back to the children of Maine and make it a place where people can get an education, find a good job and afford a home.
House District 140
Incumbent Wayne Parry, a Republican, was on track to defeat Kirstan Watson, a Democrat, to retain the House District 140 seat.
With 99% of the vote counted, Parry won with 53.2% of the vote. House District 140 covers Arundel, Dayton and part of Lyman.
Parry, an Arundel resident, is serving his seventh nonconsecutive term representing House District 140. This past session, he served as the ranking member of the Joint Standing Committee on Transportation, according to the Maine House Republicans website. This is the seventh term on that committee and his fifth as the Republican lead. He previously served on the Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources.
He is a lifelong Mainer who graduated from Windham high school. He started his career as a truck driver for the Coca-Cola company. After that, he worked as a stern man on a lobster boat for three years during which he saved enough money to buy his own boat and found a bait company. He is currently the owner and operator of a commercial lobster fishing boat. On his campaign’s Facebook page and website, Parry criticized Democrats, claiming their policies have made Maine unaffordable. “Spend, Spend, Spend is all that’s going on in Augusta. … But NO relief for life-long Mainers. Apparently, ‘New Mainers’ came first again,” his website states.
Watson is in her final year of a three-year term on the Regional School Unit 21 Board of Directors.
