LEWISTON – Georgette Berube, a Lewiston native who served 26 years in the Maine Legislature and ran unsuccessfully for governor, died Wednesday.

The 77-year-old Berube served six of her legislative terms in the House of Representatives, from 1971 to 1982, then seven more in the Senate, from 1985 to 1996, and later from 1999 to 2000.

In 1982, she launched a primary campaign for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. The Democratic incumbent, Joseph Brennan, won re-election to a second term.

Berube attended Lewiston schools and the University of Maine. A widow, she had a son and daughter.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins released a statement saying the state lost a “dedicated and conscientious public servant.” Collins, R-Maine, cited Berube’s service to St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center and the Franco-American Heritage Center in Lewiston.

U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud, D-Maine, said Berube’s “commitment to her family, her church, her Franco-American heritage and her community will be sorely missed.”

Gov. John Baldacci, a Democrat who served with Berube in the Senate, remembered Berube as “an ardent advocate of senior and youth issues.”