Beekeeper Nicolas Hamlin enters race for Maine House District 49
Nicolas Hamlin, a beekeeper and Army veteran, launched a Republican bid for House District 49 with taxes, working waterfronts and Augusta on his mind.
Voters in Arrowsic, Georgetown, Phippsburg, Woolwich and West Bath now have an early look at a Republican challenge in House District 49, where beekeeper Nicolas Hamlin says he wants lower taxes, less red tape and stronger support for coastal livelihoods.
Hamlin announced his candidacy for the Maine House of Representatives on January 15, 2026, identifying himself as a proud Army veteran, lifelong Maine native, small business owner and community advocate. He owns and operates a local beekeeping business, and he says that work has given him firsthand experience with rising costs, overregulation and high taxes. He is collecting signatures to qualify for the November ballot and says he is accepting limited campaign contributions of $5 under Maine law.
His campaign says Hamlin wants to protect Maine’s rural character, working waterfronts and natural resources, while also backing veterans, local farms and small enterprises. He is also calling for transparent government in Augusta. For a district where marine resources and land-use questions often shape local debate, that platform puts him squarely in the middle of the issues most likely to matter in the five-town seat.
District 49 is not an open political lane. Democrat Allison Hepler of Woolwich won reelection on November 5, 2024, taking more than 60% of the vote against Republican Vincent Brown. Hepler has represented the district since 2022, after serving House District 53 from 2018 to 2022. She now serves as House chair of the Marine Resources Committee and also sits on the Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee, giving her a strong foothold on the fisheries, farming and land-use issues that touch Sagadahoc County’s coastal towns.
A district profile compiled by The Maine Monitor says District 49 had 7,317 actively registered voters. That electorate spans communities with working waterfront concerns, rural roads, small businesses and state-facing policy questions that can shape everything from taxes to local economies. Hamlin is trying to frame his bid as a response to those pressures, while Hepler enters the race with incumbency, committee seniority and a record of winning the seat by a comfortable margin.
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