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Chellie Pingree | |
|---|---|
 Pingree in 2022 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMaine's1st district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Tom Allen |
| Member of theMaine Senate from the 12th district 21st district (1992–1994) | |
| In office December 2, 1992 – December 6, 2000 | |
| Preceded by | Linda Curtis Brawn |
| Succeeded by | Christine Savage |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Rochelle Marie Johnson (1955-04-02)April 2, 1955 (age 69) Minneapolis,Minnesota, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3, includingHannah |
| Education | College of the Atlantic (BA) |
| Awards | Maine Women's Hall of Fame (2001) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | House website |
Pingree speaks in opposition to theTrump administration's decision to allow offshore drilling in all U.S. waters Recorded January 18, 2018 | |
Chellie MariePingree (/ˈʃɛliˈpɪŋɡriː/SHELL-eePING-gree; bornRochelle Marie Johnson; April 2, 1955) is an American politician serving as theU.S. representative forMaine's 1st congressional district since 2009.[1] Her district includes most of the southern part of the state, centered around thePortland area.
A member of theDemocratic Party, Pingree was a member of theMaine Senate from 1992 to 2000, serving asmajority leader for her last four years. She ran for theUnited States Senate in2002, losing to incumbent RepublicanSusan Collins. From 2003 until 2006, she was president and CEO ofCommon Cause. She is the first Democratic woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine.
Pingree was born Rochelle Marie Johnson, inMinneapolis, Minnesota, the daughter of Harry and Dorothy Johnson. She moved to Maine as a teenager and had her first name legally changed to Chellie. She attended theUniversity of Southern Maine and graduated fromCollege of the Atlantic with a degree in human ecology. Since graduating from College of the Atlantic, she has resided onNorth Haven, a small island community off the coast ofRockland.
Pingree held various farming and care-taking jobs until 1981, when she started North Island Yarn, acottage industry of hand knitters with a retail store on North Haven. Her business expanded and became North Island Designs, employing as many as ten workers. They began marketing knitting kits and pattern books nationwide through 1,200 retail stores and 100,000 mail-order catalogues. Through North Island Designs, Pingree authored and produced five knitting books between 1986 and 1992.Eisenhower Fellowships selected her as a USA Eisenhower Fellow in 1997.[1]
As the leader ofCommon Cause, Pingree was active in the organization's programs in media reform, elections, ethics, and money in politics. She supportednet neutrality, mandatory voter-verified paper ballots, public financing of congressional elections, national popular vote (a workaround for theElectoral College), and an independent ethics commission for Congress. She stepped down from Common Cause in February 2007 to return to her home state and run for Congress in 2008.[2]
Pingree was first elected in 1992.[3] She was outspoken against going towar against Iraq,[4] although counseled by party insiders to avoid that subject. She was reelected in 1994[5] and 1996. In 2000, she was unable to seek reelection due to term limits.[6]
Pingree representedKnox County in theMaine Senate. She was elected Maine's second female majority leader in 1996.
During her tenure as a state legislator, Pingree made nationwide headlines when she authored the nation's first bill regulating prescription drug prices, Maine Rx.[7] She also shepherded Maine's largest land-bill initiative, Land for Maine's Future.[8]
In 2002, Pingree ran for theU.S. Senate seat held by RepublicanSusan Collins. Collins, a popular moderate incumbent, won by a vote of 295,041 (58%) to 209,858 (42%).[9]
In April 2007, Pingree filed papers for her bid to run forMaine's 1st congressional district.[10]
On August 15, 2007,EMILY's List endorsed Pingree for Congress.[11][12] In December 2007, she was endorsed by21st Century Democrats.[13] She was endorsed by a number of labor organizations and many individuals and state officials, including CongressmanRush D. Holt Jr.; CongresswomanJan Schakowsky; Maine Senate Majority LeaderLibby Mitchell; former Maine Senate Assistant Majority LeaderAnne Rand; State RepresentativePaulette Beaudoin; progressive writer and activistJim Hightower; theUnited Auto Workers;Planned Parenthood, and theLeague of Conservation Voters.[14]
Pingree was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2008. She was sworn in on January 6, 2009.[15]
Pingree was reelected in 2010, defeating Republican nominee Dean Scontras by a 57% to 43% margin. She overcame strong anti-Democrat and anti-incumbent political sentiment to become just one of eight House Democrats to receive a higher percentage of the vote than in 2008.[1]
On February 29, 2012, an Associated Press story mentioned that Pingree was starting to circulate petitions to run forthe U.S. Senate seat vacated by the retirement ofOlympia Snowe, which she confirmed onThe Rachel Maddow Show later that night.[16] She withdrew her name from the race on March 7 and was reelected to the House.[17]
In 2014, Pingree won with 60% of the vote against a Republican who had not previously run for elective office and an independent candidate.
In 2016, Pingree defeated Republican nominee Mark Holbrook by around 16 points.[18]
In late 2017, Pingree's name was mentioned as a potential Democratic candidate for governor of Maine, to succeed term-limited incumbentPaul LePage. In mid-December, she announced plans to run for reelection to the House.[19] Pingree defeated Holbrook again by around 26 points.[20]
Pingree was reelected, defeating Republican nominee Jay Allen.[21][22]
Pingree was reelected in 2022, defeating Republican nominee Edwin Thelander by 24 percentage points.
Pingree was reelected in 2024 with 58% of the vote, defeating Republican nominee Ronald Russell by 22 percentage points.
Soon after her election, Pingree joined theCongressional Progressive Caucus, of which she is now vice chair. In September 2010, a video surfaced on the internet showing Pingree atPortland International Jetport disembarking from a private jet owned by her then-fiancé, hedge fund managerS. Donald Sussman. This drew criticism due to past statements Pingree made critical of legislators using private aircraft. Pingree declined to respond.[23][24] The House Ethics Committee, in a bipartisan letter, stated the travel was permissible under House ethics rules.[25]
On May 23, 2013, Pingree introduced theYork River Wild and Scenic River Study Act of 2013 (H.R. 2197; 113th Congress). If passed, the bill would require theNational Park Service (NPS) to study a segment of theYork River in Maine for potential addition to theWild and Scenic Rivers System.[26] The study would determine how the proposed designation would affect recreational and commercial activities.[27] The study would cost approximately $500,000.[28]
Pingree opposes granting the presidentfast track authority in negotiating trade agreements, having voted against doing so on June 12, 2015. She said that such agreements need more transparency and debate, not less.[37]
Pingree helped draft the Fair Elections Now Act, a proposal to provide public Fair Elections funding for popular candidates who raised a sufficient number of small local contributions.[38] She has spoken out against the 2011 Supreme Court rulingMcComish v. Bennett, which limits public financing systems for congressional campaigns.[38]
Pingree has consistently voted against aggressive foreign policy.[39] In March 2011, she voted for a resolution to remove forces fromAfghanistan. In June 2011, she voted for House Resolution 292, preventing PresidentBarack Obama from deploying ground forces inLibya.[39]
In 2017, Pingree did not attend the inauguration ofDonald Trump, instead visiting aPlanned Parenthood center and a business owned by immigrants. She attended the2017 Women's March the next day and stood on stage with other politicians who had refused to attend the inauguration.[40] In July 2019, Pingree joined 95 Democrats voting for an impeachment resolution against Trump. Maine representativeJared Golden and 136 other Democrats joined all Republicans to kill the resolution.[41]
In July 2019, Pingree voted against H. Res. 246 - 116th Congress, a House Resolution introduced byBrad Schneider opposing efforts to boycott the State ofIsrael and the GlobalBoycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement targeting Israel.[42] The resolution passed 398–17.[43]
On December 18, 2019, Pingree voted to impeach Trump.[44]
Alongside her House colleagues, Pingree has urged President Joe Biden to declare a national climate emergency.[45] She supportsAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal resolution.[46]
Pingree voted with PresidentJoe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the117th Congress, according to aFiveThirtyEight analysis.[47]
In 2023, Pingree was among 56 Democrats to vote in favor of H.Con.Res. 21, which directed PresidentJoe Biden to remove U.S. troops fromSyria within 180 days.[48][49]
| Year | Office | Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Opponent | Party | Votes | % | Opponent | Party | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008[50] | Maine's 1st congressional district | Chellie Pingree | Democratic | 205,629 | 54.90% | Charlie Summers | Republican | 168,930 | 45.10% | ||||
| 2010[51] | Democratic | 169,114 | 56.82% | Dean Scontras | Republican | 128,501 | 43.17% | Other | Other | 42 | 0.01% | ||
| 2012[52] | Democratic | 236,363 | 64.79% | Jonathan Courtney | Republican | 128,440 | 35.21% | ||||||
| 2014[53] | Democratic | 186,309 | 60.3% | Isaac Misiuk | Republican | 94,847 | 30.7% | Richard Murphy | Other | 27,669 | 9.0% | ||
| 2016[54] | Democratic | 227,546 | 57.9% | Mark Holbrook | Republican | 164,569 | 42.1% | James Bouchard | Libertarian | 14,551 | 3.6% | ||
| 2018[55] | Democratic | 198,853 | 58.8% | Mark Holbrook | Republican | 109,714 | 32.4% | Martin Grohman | Independent | 29,569 | 8.7% | ||
| 2020[56] | Democratic | 271,004 | 62.2% | Jay Allen | Republican | 165,008 | 37.8% | ||||||
| 2022 | Democratic | 218,630 | 62.8% | Ed Thelander | Republican | 128,996 | 37.1% | ||||||
| 2024[57] | Democratic | 249,798 | 58.7% | Ronald Russell | Republican | 154,849 | 36.4% | Ethan Alcorn | Independent | 20,883 | 4.9% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Chellie Pingree | 24,324 | 43.9 | |
| Democratic | Adam Cote | 15,706 | 28.3 | |
| Democratic | Michael Brennan | 6,040 | 10.9 | |
| Democratic | Ethan Strimling | 5,833 | 10.5 | |
| Democratic | Mark Lawrence | 2,726 | 4.9 | |
| Democratic | Steve Meister | 753 | 1.3 | |
| Total votes | 55,382 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Susan Collins (incumbent) | 299,266 | 58.4 | ||
| Democratic | Chellie Pingree | 205,901 | 41.6 | ||
Pingree has three children; the oldest,Hannah Pingree, is the former Speaker of theMaine House of Representatives. On June 18, 2011, Pingree marriedS. Donald Sussman, a hedge fund manager,[58] in a private ceremony at the couple's home in North Haven, Maine.[59]
Until June 1, 2015, Sussman owned a 75%[60] stake inMaineToday Media, the owners of thePortland Press Herald,Kennebec Journal, andMorning Sentinel, in addition to sitting on the board of directors.[61] Articles in those papers that discussed Pingree carried a disclaimer noting her marriage to Sussman.[58][62]
Sussman completed the sale of his stake in MaineToday Media on June 1, 2015.[63]
Pingree released a statement on September 8, 2015, announcing her separation and beginning of divorce proceedings from Sussman. She called it an "amicable and truly mutual decision". They divorced in the summer of 2016.[64]
Pingree and her daughter Hannah co-own the Nebo Lodge Inn & Restaurant on Maine's North Haven Island.[65]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromMaine (Class 2) 2002 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMaine's 1st congressional district 2009–present | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 71st | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
