Thomas Martin (Maine politician)

Martin served as a Republican State Senator from Maine's 25th District, representing much of Kennebec County, including the population centers of Waterville and Winslow as well as two communities in Somerset County, including Pittsfield. At that time he was a resident of Benton, Maine. He was first elected to the Maine State Senate in 2010 and defeated for re-election in 2012 by Colleen Lachowicz. During his re-election campaign, the Maine Republican Party criticized Lachowicz for comments she made while playing World of Warcraft. After the criticism received national attention, gamers donated $6,300 to two PACs supporting Lachowicz. Overall, $181,000 was spent to oppose Martin's re-election. Lachowicz won her hometown of Waterville by more than 1,900 votes and the district by approximately 900.[1]

After Leslie Gibson, the sole 2018 candidate for District 57 of the Maine State House withdrew in the wake of a nationwide uproar over his insults of Stoneman Douglas High School shooting survivors Emma González and David Hogg, Martin announced that he would run for the seat, stating that Gibson's remarks did not represent the Maine Republican Party, and that he planned to contact the survivors to commend their courage. Martin said that while he had contemplated a run for office, he had not intended to run for any office in 2018, since he and his wife had newly moved to this area, and had just adopted a child.[2]