A Madawaska Democrat, Natasha Alcala, became the first member of her party to jump into what is likely to be a hotly contested 2026 U.S. Senate race in Maine when she filed paperwork last week with the Federal Election Commission.

Alcala briefly entered last year’s U.S. Senate contest but never qualified for the ballot.

In her unsuccessful bid to become one of the Maine Democratic Party’s delegates to last year’s national convention, she told party officials she was running “to help Maine get more infrastructure funding from the government.”

Longtime U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican who is one of the longest-serving members on Capitol Hill, is likely to seek a sixth term in 2026. She has not yet formally entered the race.

Maine’s Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has said she may challenge Collins. She, too, has not jumped into the fray.

Also in the running are independent Phillip Rench, 37, of Waterboro and Daniel Smeriglio, 42, of Frenchville, a GOP activist who hopes to knock off Collins in a primary next year.

Alcala, who could not be reached Tuesday, said in her statement to party leaders last year that “when I drive around the state of Maine, I know the current senators are not doing a good job based on how horrible the infrastructure and maintenance are in a lot of Maine cities and towns.

“Mainers deserve to live happily,” she said. “Let’s make that happen.”

She said she would push for “a tiny house village” to provide housing for the homeless, a universal basic income for everyone “so that no one has to struggle to live.”

Alcala said veterans and disabled Americans also need more funding “and better programs” while elderly people should receive better care.

The U.S. Senate race in Maine next year is expected to be among the mostly hard-fought and expensive in the country.

Senators serve six-year terms for $174,000 annually.