Maine is having a moment in the political sun in 2026. It has what has been billed as the most competitive US Senate race this fall, and it has a competitive governor’s race as well, not to mention competitive US House of Representatives elections.

At the state level, in the 16th District of the Maine House of Representatives, Nina Milliken (she/her) is the incumbent running for re-election. This millennial single mom of three, while serving the people in her district, is simultaneously working on her Master’s Degree. Nina has made the abolition of the carceral state her signature issue in the legislature.

Where are you based?
I live in Blue Hill, Maine, a very small and rural community on the Downeast Coast.

What is your position/what position are you running for?
I am in my second term in the Maine State House of Representatives and I am running for my third term.

How would you briefly summarize your platform?
My policy platform mostly is about moving us away from the carceral and police systems that we have, systems that are intended to harm BIPOC communities and poor people and moving us towards a system that supports the members of all of Maine's communities. We know what prevents crime — access to healthcare, childcare, mental healthcare, education, housing, food, and other necessities. Police and prisons don't prevent crime. I often say that if prisons made us safer, we would live in the safest nation on earth, by a lot. And we're not even close. Additionally, I believe that people with substance use disorders need help and love and support, not handcuffs. I think we should be doing everything we can to treat people who use drugs and who commit harm with love and dignity. And I use my position in the Maine Legislature to advocate for policies that do exactly that.

What inspired you to run?
I love politics and always wanted to be in politics, but got sidetracked by years of addiction. I am a victim/survivor of a lot of sexual harm and domestic violence and those experiences sort of redirected my life into one full of drugs and alcohol. I got sober when I was 30 years old (just over 7 years ago) and decided that life is too short to not do the things that I have always wanted to do. So, I took a chance and ran for the legislature. And it is the best job I have ever had.

What change are you hoping to bring to your district and country?
I would LOVE to finally bring parole back to Maine after 50 years. Maine has some of the longest sentences in the country and our prison population has tripled since we abolished parole in 1976. I have seen men transform in our DOC custody. I see the work that they put in to improve their lives and try to repair the harm they committed. Several people in our DOC custody have access to computers and have remote jobs where they earn free world wages. One man drafted this bill to provide himself and others like him a path to sending some of his earnings to his victim to try to repair the harm he committed. I'd also love to see Maine pass universal childcare. As a single mom, I can't explain how life changing that would have been for my family. And policies like that are crime prevention. No brainer crime prevention.

How long have you been in office? What do you consider to be your major accomplishments so far?
I am in my 4th year in office. I'd say my biggest accomplishments so far was passing the strongest stealthing law in the nation, eliminating the last disparities between how we criminalize crack cocaine versus powder cocaine, providing people in DOC custody a mechanism to pay their victims additional restitution, and also I passed bills to save Toddy Pond and Alamoosook Lake in Hancock County, Maine. I also passed a law requiring that all cops in the state carry Narcan. I honestly am not sure why that had to be a law. If your job is to protect and serve, you should have the best tools at your disposal to protect everyone.

While we haven't passed parole yet in Maine, we have made enormous progress towards that goal and even got the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault to come out in strong support for the parole bill this last session.

What do you feel are the most important issues right now, why, and how do you plan to tackle them?
Economic justice is probably the most important issue of the moment. We are living in a rigged system and everyone knows it. It is stark on the coast of Maine. I am surrounded by absurd wealth and abject poverty. Our healthcare systems are failing. Our social service infrastructure is buckling. We need to make some serious changes. And, frankly, democrats aren't doing nearly enough. Democrats in Maine have to own the current situation. We've had eight years of trifecta and we've not made nearly enough progress towards a more equitable system. We have done some good work but not nearly enough. And our constituents know it.

America is extremely divided these days. How would you hope to bridge that divide with your constituents to better unite Americans?
I honestly get along with everyone. I feel like I constantly bridge gaps. I am an open book. I never try to be someone I am not. My cell number is super accessible and I am responsive. I own that I am a drug addict and talk about it openly and publicly, including on the floor of the Maine House of Representatives. I do what I can to bring people with substance use issues to the legislature and I also do what I can to bring politicians to prison. And a lot of them take me up on it.

How do you see your unique identity and background to be an asset to you in office?
I am a person in long term recovery from many substance use disorders including a heroin use disorder and because of that lived experience, the focus of my work in the Maine Legislature has been around supporting people with substance use disorders and reforming our prison system to better support people who commit serious harm. Maine abolished parole in 1976, the first state to do so, and one of my biggest policy goals is to re-establish parole in Maine. On my own time, I try to spend some time each week inside a prison in Maine, mostly inside the Maine State Prison in Warren, our largest maximum security men's prison in the state. Maine is one of two states in the nation that allow our incarcerated population to vote. Because of that, I think it is my duty as a member of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee to be as accessible as possible to the men and women in our Department of Corrections Custody. Many of my bills have been written and amended heavily with the help of men and women behind bars. I keep in close contact with many incarcerated people all the time and am able to ask their input in my work on bills that come through the committee, often in real time.

For FAR too long, legislatures have been inaccessible to specific people. Lawmakers have such massive power over the lives of everyday people, but haven’t done the work to make sure that those people feel good and comfortable coming in to the spaces those decisions are being made to talk about how the changes would impact them. People leaving incarceration, people currently incarcerated, and people who use or have used drugs SHOULD be consulted when we are changing laws that impact their lives. DOC budgets should not be crafted without input from incarcerated people. Decisions around the weight thresholds between a misdemeanor possession charge and a felony trafficking charge should not be determined by people who have never used drugs, especially since Maine doesn't require any other proof to get to a trafficking charge besides the weight of the drugs (baggies, scales, etc.). Historically, those decisions have been made my cops and prosecutors. I sit on the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee with a retired Federal Drug Enforcement Agend. I used drugs for years. And my vote counts the same as his vote. That is an empowering and incredible experience for me. And I am grateful every day to have it.

What is your motto in life?
Life is short. This isn't a dress rehearsal.

Where can we find out more about you?
Facebook: Representative Nina Milliken

Our Favorite Progressive Candidates in 2026 - Nina Milliken, Maine House of Representatives, District 16