She entered politics as a local tax assessor, but said it was her daughter, Hannah, who gave her the idea to run for Maine's state Senate. (Hannah Pingree is now the Speaker of Maine's House of Representatives.)

Maine Politics

Pingree won her first state Senate term in 1992. In 1996 she became majority leader, serving until 2000.

"I come from a very small community where people take government very seriously and make all our important decisions at an annual town meeting," Pingree told WhoRunsGov.com. "This example of democracy at its purest form has inspired me throughout my political career."

2002 Senate Race

In 2002, Pingree tried to oust moderate Sen. Susan Collins (R) by running primarily on a platform of lowering the costs of prescription drugs.

The pharmaceutical lobby came out hard against Pingree. At the time, the New York Times reported: "Ms. Pingree says coolly, 'I have a feeling they'd prefer not to have me in the Senate.' Mr. Allen, the Democratic Maine congressman, is blunter: 'If that race becomes a close race, there is, in my opinion, no limit to the amount of money they will spend to defeat Chellie Pingree.'"

Adding to that sentiment was the fact that Pingree was ''not running against someone who opposes prescription drug reform," Sen. Collins' chief of staff Steve Abbot said.

After her defeat, Pingree went to Washington to run Common Cause, a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy organization whose stated goal is to help "citizens to make their voices heard in the political process and to hold their elected leaders accountable to the public interest."

2008 House Contest

In 2008, Allen vacated his House seat representing Maine's 1st district to try to oust Republican Sen. Collins as Pingree had done six years earlier. Pingree ran for Allen's House seat. Allen lost; Pingree won.

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