AUGUSTA – Now that the deadline has passed for Republicans and Democrats to announce their candidacies for the Legislature, it looks like there will be many familiar names on the ballot for the Senate this fall.

Sen. Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston, is barred from running for re-election to the Senate due to term limits, but has decided to run for District 74’s House seat.

That district’s current representative, Margaret Craven, another Lewiston Democrat, is running for Rotundo’s open Senate seat.

But she’s not the only one.

Rep. Elaine Makas, D-Lewiston, is running for the same Senate seat, and a third Democrat, Paul Madore of Lewiston, is also joining the race. The Democrats will face-off in a three-way primary before taking on the lone Republican candidate, Corey Nelson Troup of Lewiston.

“It’s unfortunate,” Makas said of running against Craven, a current colleague in the House. “But it’s been my intention all along to run for the Senate seat. I am running for the seat, not against her.”

Protecting the Androscoggin River will be a top priority if she’s elected to the Senate, Makas said.

“There’s this attitude sometimes that ‘It’s just the Androscoggin,’ or ‘It’s just Lewiston,'” she said. “Well, I’m sorry, this happens to be our city. This is where we live, that’s our river. I am tired of people putting Lewiston down.”

Craven said she’s running for District 16’s open Senate seat because she wants Lewiston to have a “loud voice” in Augusta.

“These are difficult times,” said Craven, who currently serves on the Appropriations Committee. “In areas like Lewiston, we serve a lot of vulnerable people you have to spend every minute (in Augusta) making sure that the concerns of this municipality are represented.”

District 15’s Senate seat also pits veteran lawmakers against each other.

Republican incumbent Sen. Lois Snowe-Mello of Poland will face a tough challenge from Auburn Democratic Rep. Deborah Simpson, who is finishing her fourth consecutive term in the House.

In 2006, Snowe-Mello won her Senate seat by only 400 votes out of the more than 15,000 cast.

Simpson said she’s running for the Senate to represent “working families” in Maine.

“These are tight budget times and we have to make difficult decisions, but we have to balance fiscal priorities along with human needs,” said Simpson, who serves as the House chair on the Judiciary Committee.

In other area races, Sen. David Hastings III, R-Fryeburg, is running for his third term in District 13 against Harrison Democrat Lisa Villa.

Three-term incumbent Bruce Bryant, D-Dixfield, is running against Glen Holmes, R-Buckfield, in District 14. Bryant currently chairs the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee.

In District 17, Sen. John Nutting, D-Leeds, is seeking a third term against Turner Republican Russell Pack. Nutting chairs the Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee.

Sen. Walter Gooley, R-Farmington, is running for his second term in District 18 against Ann Woloson, a Democrat from Belgrade.