SACO — Senate Minority Leader Barry Hobbins is considering either running for the 1st Congressional District seat or for State House District 133, but hasn’t made a final decisions.

Hobbins, 60, an attorney living in Saco, will be termed out of the Senate District 5 seat in November. He said he was poised to make an announcement that he would be running for State House District 133, which will be vacated by State Rep. Don Pilon in November, and has the requisite signatures needed to pursue candidacy.

On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe announced she wouldn’t be seeking re-election, and since then, U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree has announced she is considering vying for the Senate seat.

The recent news of Snowe and Pingree, said Hobbins, “gave me pause.”

Hobbins has taken out paperwork and is working on getting the 1,000 signatures needed by March 15 to run for Congress, but he said, he hasn’t made any final decisions. He will think things through the next few days then decide whether to run for Congress or for State representative, he said.

“It’s just a matter of sorting it all out and seeing if this is the right decision for me and my family,” he said.

He said he’s been calling friends, family, political contacts and weighing their opinions. He said he’s been overwhelmed by words of good will from people in the Saco, Biddeford and Old Orchard Beach area.

“I’ve been encouraged by everyone from a convenience store clerk to prominent political figures in Maine,” he said.

Hobbins served in the Maine House of Representatives from 1972-84. He served in the Maine Senate from 1988-90 and from 2004 to the present. 

Hobbins ran for Congress when he was 32 and lost, but he said, he’s much more experienced now.

Hobbins said the consensus building and negotiation skills he’s used in the state house can be utilized in Congress, should he decide to run for U.S. representative.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 325 or [email protected].