Familiar Faces Running for New Districts in 2022 Primaries

March 15 was the deadline for candidates to file papers to appear on the June 14 Democratic and Republic primary ballots, and the local candidates are all familiar names who have been involved in the community in various ways.

In State Senate District 33, former Sanford School Committee member Kendra Williams will be on the ballot for the Democrats, while Matthew Harrington, who currently serves as State Representative for District 19, will run unopposed on the Republican side.

Among Sanford and Springvale’s three State Representative seats, there is only one primary challenge. Jack McAdam, who currently serves on the Planning Board, will face off against longtime resident Patty Kidder in the District 141 Democratic primary. In the November general election, the winner will face former City Councilor Lucas Lanigan, who is running unopposed on the Republican ticket. District 141 includes most of Springvale and part of Sanford, as well as the towns of Shapleigh and Newfield.

In the District 142 primary, Pamela Buck, who ran for State Rep. in 2018 and 2020, is the sole Republican on the ballot, while former City Councilor Joe Hanslip is running unopposed on the Democratic side. District 142 represents much of the east side and part of Springvale, and includes most of District 18, which was represented in the current Legislature by the late John Tuttle.

For District 143, which includes south Sanford and part of the downtown area, the candidates are Sanford native Matthew Toth on the Republican ballot, and Budget Committee Chair Wesley Davie on the Democratic ticket.

If these State Rep. district numbers don’t sound familiar to you, it’s because the districts for the entire state have been redrawn and renumbered. This process, known as apportionment, occurs every ten years following the federal census, and ensures that each State Representative and State Senator represents an equal number of constituents. We will have more info about this in an upcoming feature so you will know which candidates will be on your ballot before you vote in June. There will be more information about the candidates as well.

Maine has a third political party, the Green Independent Party, but no GIP candidates have filed for a primary in our area. The Green Independents should not be confused with unenrolled voters (those who don’t affiliate with any party), who are often referred to as independent.

The Democratic and Republican primary winners will face off in November and may be joined by non-party/unenrolled candidates, who have until until June 1 to complete the filing process with the state, and by write-in candidates, who have until September 9 to file an official declaration of write-in candidacy.

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