WESTBROOK – Maine state Rep. Anne Haskell, D-Portland, has thrown her hat into the ring for the District 9 state Senate seat, announcing this week that she was running for the seat occupied by incumbent Joseph C. Brannigan.

It is unclear whether or not Brannigan plans to run for re-election, but according to the state Democratic Party, Brannigan is serving his sixth term as senator right now, but only his third consecutive term. That makes him eligible to run for re-election to the seat, which covers part of Portland and the northern half of Westbrook.

Haskell is serving her third term in the house’s Portland seat, having previously served three terms, from 1988 to 1994, as a representative in Gorham.

“Right now, Maine needs leaders who will fight get the economy back on track and put money in the pockets of the working and middle class, which is why I am running to Represent District 9 in the State Senate,” Haskell said in a statement. “I was born here, grew up here, and raised my kids here. I understand Maine values and I have fought for those values as a Representative in Augusta. If elected, I will continue to fight for those values as a State Senator.”

Haskell is the ranking House Democrat on the legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. She has also served on the State and Local Government Committee, the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee, and was House Chairman of the Committee on Corrections (now Criminal Justice and Public Safety).

Brannigan is currently serving his sixth term in the Maine Senate representing Senate District 9, and has also served seven terms in the House of Representatives.

Prior to his service in the Maine Senate, Brannigan served seven terms in the Maine House of Representatives and has chaired the Business and Commerce Committee, Judiciary Committee, Marine Resources Committee, Housing and Economic Development Committee, Appropriation and Financial Affairs Committee and Transportation Committee. He has served as the chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee and as a member of the State and Local Government Committee. He was also chairman of Joint Select Committee on Health Care Reform Opportunities and Implementation.