Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon has officially jumped into the state’s U.S. Senate race, joining two other Democrats in their quest to unseat Republican Susan Collins. She’d been expected to announce her run after the scheduled June 19 close of Maine’s legislative session, several sources told HuffPost earlier this month. ″Whether its been on the town council, as a state representative or as Maine’s speaker of the House, I’ve learned that if you listen and if you are willing to work with others, it’s still possible to get things done,” Gideon said in a video announcing her campaign on Monday.

I’m running against Susan Collins for U.S. Senate because Mainers deserve a senator who will always put our state first. Let's build this campaign together. Will you join us? ➡️ https://t.co/mcihP9UtNE#MESen#MEpoliticspic.twitter.com/1SbV0MbMKM — saragideon (@SaraGideonME) June 24, 2019

Gideon, the daughter of an Indian immigrant father and a second-generation Armenian American mother, has served in the Maine House of Representatives since 2012, representing the towns of Freeport and Pownal. The 47-year-old mother of three has focused her legislative tenure on boosting the state’s economy, tackling the opioid crisis, investing in sustainable energy and increasing access to universal health care. In the last few weeks of Maine’s first regular legislative session of 2019, Gideon oversaw the passage of several progressive bills, including automatic voter registration and expanding abortion access for women across the state. Her anti-poverty legislation to address the state’s “benefits cliff” and provide training for adults to qualify for higher-paying jobs received unanimous support in the state’s House and Senate on Tuesday. The bill is awaiting Democratic Gov. Janet Mills’ signature.

We're still here at the State House, doing everything we can to finish our work.@GovJanetMills just signed LD 1713, legislation I introduced to provide property tax relief payments directly to Maine residents. #mepoliticspic.twitter.com/DzFo642akh — Speaker Sara Gideon (@saragideon) June 20, 2019