Hello friends,

I was hoping I could quickly introduce myself today. Although I had the chance to meet many of you during the 2022 election cycle, for those of you I have yet to cross paths with, my name is Bev Uhlenhake. I am honored and excited to serve as the newly-elected Chair of the Maine Democratic Party.

I first got involved in Maine politics during the fight for LGBTQ+ rights in the late 1990s. While the road to getting those rights and then finally legalizing same-sex marriage in Maine wasn’t a smooth one, our movement finally won big in 2012. We reelected President Obama, won back our majorities in the Maine House and Senate, and ended the battle for marriage equality in Maine once and for all. While I learned so much from working on those campaigns, particularly two crucial lessons that continue to guide me today:

1. When Democrats fight and organize, we win.

2. When we lead with our core Democratic values, we not only win elections, but we build a better Maine. 

Yet the stakes have only grown in the last decade. With our rights, freedoms, our climate, and our very democracy hanging in the balance, we need to organize like never before. I ran for Chair of the Maine Democratic Party because I believe our state is at a turning point. We’ve made tremendous progress with Governor Mills in the Blaine House, but there are still those who want to take our state in reverse. We need to build a Democratic movement that can withstand lies, fearmongering, and voter apathy.

I’m asking you to join me in imagining a future beyond the next election – a future where the rights of our friends and neighbors are protected, where all Mainers have the opportunity to thrive, where everyone who comes to our state feels like it can be their home too. That’s the future I’m fighting for. It won’t happen overnight, but the good news is… we’ve already started.

In solidarity,
Bev

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Bev Uhlenhake
Chair
Maine Democratic Party
 

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