Kristan Watson

Democrat

Maine House District 140

Democrat

Previous Offices Held


Currently serving first three-year term on Regional School Unit 21 Board of Directors, elected in 2024. Unsuccessfully sought Maine House District 140 seat in 2022, serving as a “paper candidate” to ensure a Democrat was on the ballot.

Top Three Priorities


Reestablish the fundamental purpose of government: to represent and serve the people; restore our system of checks and balances; and confront the long-standing policy trends that have led to the current unaffordability crisis, ensuring policy works for everyday folks, not just the wealthy and well-connected.

Why are you running?


Ordinary people deserve a government that listens and responds, not one that creates barriers in our personal and professional lives. I’m running to bring practical experience, independent thinking and community-rooted leadership to Augusta, ensuring that government works for the people who continue to be the backbone of our communities.

What is one way Maine is on the right track? What is one way the state is on the wrong track?


Maine is on the right track when we invest in people and communities: expanding childcare and healthcare access, supporting public schools and universal meals, protecting reproductive freedom, helping seniors and veterans, preserving farms and natural resources, and growing clean-energy and skilled-trades jobs. But good policy must do more than look good on paper — it should make life more affordable, secure and navigable for everyday Mainers.

As one of several dozen legislators in your chamber, how would you make a measurable difference for your constituents?


I’ll be accessible, responsive and persistent, with a focus on the issues hitting families hardest, including housing, healthcare and the needs of rural communities. I’m willing to ask hard questions, challenge assumptions and work across party lines to solve problems. And I’ll measure success by whether the policies enacted actually make people’s lives better.

Surveys show the economy is the top concern of voters. What is a specific proposal addressing Maine voters’ economic anxieties that you’d work to make law?


When wealth determines election outcomes, political power is wielded at the expense of working people, veterans, children and retirees. Decades of policies favoring wealth over labor contribute to an economy where costs outpace wages and wealth concentrates at the top. I’d work to curb big-money influence in Maine politics and support efforts to overturn Citizens United, helping to restore checks and balances and advance policies that support working people and communities.