Betsy Sweet is a life-long activist, political organizer, small business owner, and mother who lives in Hallowell, Maine. She is a progressive Democrat running for U.S. Senate, seeking to unseat Republican incumbent Susan Collins.

Sweet is the only major candidate in this race to fully support and advocate for the Green New Deal, Medicare for All and eliminating all student debt. As the granddaughter of a lobsterman, the daughter of a middle school math teacher and a food service manager, and a single mom of three, Sweet knows the challenges of working-class Mainers first hand.

Sweet helped create the first Clean Elections System in the country right here in Maine because she saw first-hand the corrupting influence of money in politics and policymaking. She ran as a Clean Elections candidate for governor in 2018 -- the only Democratic candidate in the race to do so. She has pledged to refuse all corporate PAC or dirty money in this race, and she fuels her campaign with small-dollar donations and a growing grassroots network of everyday Mainers all across the state.

While Betsy’s advocacy accomplishments are too numerous to list here -- as she has more than 35 years of experience fighting for working-class Mainers -- highlights include: writing and helping pass the first Family Medical Leave Act in the country, creating the first Clean Elections system in the country, working on every Maine State Budget for 37 years, serving as executive director of the Maine Women’s Lobby, serving as program coordinator for the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, serving as Commissioner for Women under Governors Brennan and McKernan, co-founding the Maine Center for Economic Policy and the Dirigo Alliance, and founding and running her own small advocacy business, Moose Ridge Associates. Sweet also co-founded the Civil Rights Team Project, an anti-bullying program currently taught in 400 schools across the state. She is also a trainer of sexual harassment prevention for businesses, agencies, and schools.

She is also the proud mom of three amazing young women, Paley, Dani and Thea and lives in Hallowell, Maine.