In her race for Maine Senate, she's earned the endorsement of President Barack Obama, as well as organizations that represent, women, teachers, workers, and state employees.

Fortman dedicated the early part of her career to improving the lives of women and girls, particularly related to policy work advancing support for victims of sexual and domestic violence.

As a survivor of sexual assault, Forman's resilience and courage led her to work as a direct service provider at the Women's Resource Center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

In the legislative and policy arena, she helped to pass Maine's Reproductive Privacy Act, insurance coverage for contraception, a resolution requiring the Department of Labor to implement Maine's Equal Pay Act, Maine's Parents as Scholars program empowering welfare recipients to access higher education, the ground-breaking employment leave for victims of violence law, and unemployment insurance protection for part-time workers and for victims of violence, among many others.

[3] During her tenure until the end of 2010, the gender pay gap was decreased and the state created more and nontraditional employment services for women.