A member of the Democratic Party, Cain served in the Maine Senate from 2012 to 2014, representing the 30th district which includes part of Penobscot County.
Emily Cain was born in Louisville, Kentucky, but moved to the south side suburbs of Chicago, Illinois before the age of one.
After UMaine, she worked as a consultant for Jobs for Maine's Graduates, a private non-profit education and workforce training program.
[6] After the 2016 elections, Cain became the Chief Strategy Officer of HistoryIT, a Maine-based technology and services company focused on digital archives.
On June 15, 2017, Cain was hired as the executive director for EMILY's List, a national organization which works to support pro-choice Democratic women running for elected office.
[7] She was elected to the Maine House of Representatives in 2004 at the age of 24 from an historically Democrat-leaning district, defeating Republican William Reed and Green Independent Mark Horton.
[12] From 2008 to 2010, Cain served as House Chair of the Joint Select Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs, leading tough negotiations to successfully pass five unanimous bipartisan budgets.
[20][21] Cain won the Democratic primary election for Maine's 2nd congressional district, beating State Senate Majority Leader Troy Dale Jackson.
[23] Cain ran for U.S. Congress again in 2016, facing a rematch with now incumbent Republican Bruce Poliquin in the general election.