Woolwich resident Allison Hepler earned a third term in the Maine House Tuesday, when she won a race for the newly redrawn House District 49, according to unofficial results.

The former University of Maine at Farmington history teacher captured 58% of the vote in the district, which now includes West Bath in addition to Arrowsic, Georgetown, Phippsburg and Woolwich. Hepler, a Democrat, has represented the latter four towns as House District 53 representative since 2018.

“I keep thinking, ‘What a privilege to get to do this,’” she said. “I might be a little biased, but these are communities that care about each other. I’m really proud to represent them.”

While Democrats across the state have celebrated a surprisingly successful Election Night that saw the party maintain the Governor’s office and majorities in the legislature, Hepler said she prefers to keep her focus on local issues, including inefficiencies in Midcoast bottle return systems.

“I’ve always tried to stay pretty focused on what my communities need and less focused on big broad party issues,” she said. “I plan to just keep listening to people getting out in the community. You want to make sure that all voices are included, not just the ones who voted for you.”

One voice Hepler plans to include belongs to her opponent, Republican Kelly James. Though they sit on different sides of the aisle, Hepler and James both hope to advocate for local fishermen and lobstermen and to fight rising energy prices.

“We plan to sit down in a few weeks,” Hepler said. “I know we can work together on issues that matter to both of us and the entire community.”