Teresa Pierce

Democratic Party

Candidate, Maine State Senate District 25

Maine State Senate District 25

Tenure

2022 - Present

Term ends

2026

Years in position

3

Predecessor:Catherine Breen (D)

Prior offices:

Maine House of Representatives District 44

Years in office: 2014 - 2022

Predecessor:Jethro Pease (R)

Successor:William Pluecker (Independent)

Compensation

Base salary

$25,000 for the first regular session. $20,000 for the second regular session.

Per diem

$70/day for lodging (or round-trip mileage up to $0.55/mile in lieu of housing, plus tolls). $50/day for meals.

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Next election

June 9, 2026

Education

Bachelor's

University of Colorado, Boulder, 1985

Contact

Official website

Official Facebook

Campaign Facebook

Personal Facebook

Personal Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Teresa Pierce (Democratic Party) is a member of theMaine State Senate, representingDistrict 25. She assumed office on December 6, 2022. Her current term ends on December 1, 2026.

Pierce (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to theMaine State Senate to representDistrict 25. She declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled onJune 9, 2026.^[source]

Pierce was elected Maine Senate majority leader in November 2024.^[1] After the election Pierce said, “Over our next two years, Maine Senate Democrats will work together to improve all Mainers’ lives. This means creating opportunity in the face of potential hardship. This means a good-paying job, an education, a home and a community.”^[1]

Pierce earned a bachelor's degree in political science and public policy from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1985.^[2] Pierce served as a Falmouth Town Councilor for six years, including serving for two years as its chair.^[3] Pierce's other career experience includes working as the Associate Director of Alumni Advancement at the University of New England and for other nonprofit organizations.^[4]

Pierce served in theMaine House of Representatives from 2014-2022. In 2014, Pierce defeatedGregory Payeur (R) 48.9%-46% in the general election for District 44. She was re-elected in 2016, 2018, 2020. During the 128th Maine Legislature from 2016-2017, Pierce was the House chair of the Joint Select Committee on Marijuana Legalization Implementation, which was tasked with reviewing marijuana-related legislation and helping state agencies create rules and regulations for the marijuana industry. The committee was formed after voters approvedQuestion 1 50.3%-49.7% legalizing recreational marijuana use for adults over the age of 21. Clickhere to learn more about that ballot measure.^[4][5] During the 2021-2022 legislative session, Pierce was chair of theAppropriations and Financial Affairs Committee, which writes the state budget. In 2021, Pierce also sponsored a bill that became law to allow online voter registration in Maine.^[6]

In 2022, Pierce was elected to the state Senate to represent District 25. In that election, she defeated,Jennifer White (R) 63.4%-36.6%. During her first term in the Senate, Pierce was the lead sponsor ofMaine Question 2, alegislatively referredbond issue that authorized $25 million in general obligation bonds to the Maine Technology Institute for research, development, and commercialization of Maine-based public and private institutions in support of technological innovation. Voters approved Question 2 54.3%-45.7% on November 5, 2024. When she introduced the bill in April 2023, Pierce said, "Our state is at an inflection point. If we are to remain competitive in a rapidly growing economy, the time to invest in and expand our industries is now."^[7]

Biography

Teresa Pierce lives in Falmouth, Maine.^[8] Pierce earned a B.A. in political science and public policy from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1985. Her career experience includes working as the associate director of alumni advancement of the University of New England and a consultant with The Trust for Public Land. Pierce served on the Falmouth Town Council and volunteered with the Maine College of Art.^[9]

Committee assignments

2025-2026

Pierce was assigned to the following committees:

• Education and Cultural Affairs Committee
• Transportation Committee
• Senate Rules Committee,Chair
• Senatorial Vote Committee,Chair

2023-2024

Pierce was assigned to the following committees:

• Senatorial Vote Committee
• Education and Cultural Affairs Committee

2021-2022

Pierce was assigned to the following committees:

• Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee,Chair

2019-2020

Pierce was assigned to the following committees:

• Government Oversight Committee (decommissioned)
• Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee
• Leaves of Absence Committee

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Pierce served on the following committees:

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according toBillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2026

See also: Maine State Senate elections, 2026

General election

The primary will occur on June 9, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Maine State Senate District 25

IncumbentTeresa Pierce is running in the Democratic primary for Maine State Senate District 25 on June 9, 2026.

		Candidate
		Teresa Pierce

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined.
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

2024

See also: Maine State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for Maine State Senate District 25

IncumbentTeresa Pierce defeatedJames Read in the general election for Maine State Senate District 25 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Teresa Pierce (D)	64.5	17,896
	Submit photo	James Read (R)	35.5	9,835

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 27,731
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic Primary for Maine State Senate District 25

The following candidates advanced in theranked-choice voting election:Teresa Pierce in round 1 .

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
✔		Teresa Pierce	100	4,970	0	Advanced (1)

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,970
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Republican primary election

Republican Primary for Maine State Senate District 25

The following candidates advanced in theranked-choice voting election:James Read in round 1 .

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
✔	Submit photo	James Read	100	2,508	0	Advanced (1)

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,508
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Endorsements

2022

See also: Maine State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for Maine State Senate District 25

Teresa Pierce defeatedJennifer White in the general election for Maine State Senate District 25 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Teresa Pierce (D)	63.4	15,315
		Jennifer White (R)	36.6	8,845

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 24,160
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic Primary for Maine State Senate District 25

The following candidates advanced in theranked-choice voting election:Teresa Pierce in round 1 .

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
✔		Teresa Pierce	100	3,634	0	Advanced (1)

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,634
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Republican primary election

Republican Primary for Maine State Senate District 25

The following candidates advanced in theranked-choice voting election:Jennifer White in round 1 .

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
✔		Jennifer White	100	1,759	0	Advanced (1)

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,759
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

2020

See also: Maine House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Maine House of Representatives District 44

IncumbentTeresa Pierce won election in the general election for Maine House of Representatives District 44 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Teresa Pierce (D)	100.0	5,431

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,431
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic Primary for Maine House of Representatives District 44

The following candidates advanced in theranked-choice voting election:Teresa Pierce in round 1 .

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
✔		Teresa Pierce	100	1,860	0	Advanced (1)

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,860
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

2018

See also:Maine House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for Maine House of Representatives District 44

IncumbentTeresa Pierce defeatedSarah Sandlin andKathryn Schrock in the general election for Maine House of Representatives District 44 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Teresa Pierce (D)	59.4	3,474
	Submit photo	Sarah Sandlin (R)	35.7	2,090
	Submit photo	Kathryn Schrock (G)	4.9	288

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,852 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Maine House of Representatives District 44

IncumbentTeresa Pierce advanced from the Democratic primary for Maine House of Representatives District 44 on June 12, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Teresa Pierce	100.0	1,468

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 1,468
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Maine House of Representatives District 44

Sarah Sandlin advanced from the Republican primary for Maine House of Representatives District 44 on June 12, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Sarah Sandlin	100.0	771

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 771
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

2016

See also:Maine House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for theMaine House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on June 14, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was March 15, 2016.^[10]

IncumbentTeresa Pierce defeatedKimberly Diamond in the Maine House of Representatives District 44 general election.^[11]

Maine House of Representatives, District 44 General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Teresa PierceIncumbent	57.53%	3,586
	Republican	Kimberly Diamond	42.47%	2,647
Total Votes				6,233
Source:Maine Secretary of State

IncumbentTeresa Pierce ran unopposed in the Maine House of Representatives District 44 Democratic primary.^[12][13]

Maine House of Representatives, District 44 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Democratic	Teresa PierceIncumbent (unopposed)

Erin Mancini ran unopposed in the Maine House of Representatives District 44 Republican primary.^[12][13]

Maine House of Representatives, District 44 Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Republican	Erin Mancini (unopposed)

2014

See also:Maine House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for theMaine House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 10, 2014, and a general election was held onNovember 4, 2014. Thesignature filing deadline for party candidates wishing to run in this election was March 17, 2014. The deadline for write-in candidates to run in the primary election was April 28, 2014, and the deadline for non-party candidates to run in the general election was June 2, 2014. The deadline for write-in candidates to run in the general election was September 22, 2014.Teresa Pierce was unopposed in the Democratic primary.Gregory Payeur was unopposed in the Republican primary. Pierce defeated Payeur in the general election.^{[14][15][16][17]}

Maine House of Representatives District 44, General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Teresa Pierce	48.9%	2,594
	Republican	Gregory Payeur	46%	2,440
	None	Blank Votes	5.1%	271
Total Votes				5,305

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also:Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Teresa Pierce has not yet completedBallotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.If you are Teresa Pierce,click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?

Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for.  More than 25,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the surveyhere.

Help improve Ballotpedia -send us candidate contact info.

2024

Teresa Pierce did not completeBallotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Teresa Pierce did not completeBallotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Teresa Pierce did not completeBallotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2014

Pierce's website highlighted the following campaign themes:

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf.Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at theFEC website. Clickhere for more on federal campaign finance law andhere for more on state campaign finance law.

Scorecards

See also:State legislative scorecards andState legislative scorecards in Maine

Ascorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Maine scorecards, email suggestions toeditor@ballotpedia.org.

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

See also

2026 Elections

What's on the ballot?U.S. CongressU.S. Congress special electionsState executivesState legislaturesState courtsBallot measuresMunicipal governmentSchool boardsElection analysis hub

Government

Who represents me?U.S. CongressState executivesState legislatorsState courtsBallot measuresMunicipal governmentSchool boards

Newsletters

The Daily BrewThe Weekly BrewThe Ballot BulletinChecks and BalancesEconomy and SocietyHall PassNumber of the DayRobe & GavelUnion Station

External links

Footnotes

	v • e State ofMaine Augusta (capital)
Elections	What's on my ballot? |Elections in 2026 |How to vote |How to run for office |Ballot measures
Government	Who represents me? |U.S. President |U.S. Congress |Federal courts |State executives |State legislature |State and local courts |Counties |Cities |School districts |Public policy