Mana Hared Abdi is a Somali-American politician who is a member of the Maine House of Representatives representing District 95 in Lewiston after her Republican opponent, Fred Sanborn-Sanders, dropped out of the race. [1] [2]
Born in Kenya, Abdi is the youngest of eight siblings in an ethnically Somali family. [2] [3] She arrived as a refugee in the U.S. at age 11, originally settling in Kansas. [2] [3] In 2009, Abdi moved to Lewiston at the age of 13. [2]
Abdi graduated from Lewiston High School in 2014 before earning a bachelor's degree in political science and international and global studies from the University of Maine at Farmington in 2018. [2] [3] She has been working at the Office of Intercultural Education at Bates College. [4]
Lewiston is the second most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine, with the city's population at 37,121 as of the 2020 United States Census. The city lies halfway between Augusta, the state's capital, and Portland, the state's most populous city. A part of Androscoggin County, it is one-half of the Lewiston–Auburn metropolitan statistical area, commonly referred to as "L/A." or "L-A." Lewiston exerts a significant impact upon the diversity, religious variety, commerce, education, and economic power of Maine. It is known for having an overall low cost of living, substantial access to medical care, and a low violent-crime rate. In recent years, the city of Lewiston has also seen a spike in economic and social growth. While the dominant language spoken in the city is English, it is home to a significant Somali population as well as the largest French-speaking population in the United States while it is second to St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, in percentage of speakers.
William Pierce Frye was an American politician from Maine. A member of the Republican Party, Frye spent most of his political career as a legislator, serving in the Maine House of Representatives and then U.S. House of Representatives, before being elected to the U.S. Senate, where he served for 30 years before dying in office. Frye was a member of the Frye political family, and was the grandfather of Wallace H. White Jr., and the son of John March Frye. He was also a prominent member of the Peucinian Society tradition.
Robert Hale was a U.S. Representative from Maine, and first cousin of U.S. Senator Frederick Hale, also of Maine. A conservative, internationalist, and self-described reactionary, he was known for his unwavering advocacy of civil rights and opposition against the Ku Klux Klan.
Lewiston High School (LHS) is a public high school in Lewiston, Maine, United States. The school was founded in 1850 and has occupied its current building since 1973.The school mascot is the Blue Devil and the colors are blue and white. The new principal is Jonathan Radtke. From the 1930s to 1973 the high school was located on Central Ave and that building currently serves as Lewiston Middle School.
The 2012 United States Senate election in Maine was held on November 6, 2012, alongside a presidential election, other elections to the United States Senate in other states, as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Despite initially declaring her candidacy and being considered the favorite, popular incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe unexpectedly decided to retire instead of running for reelection to a fourth term.
Margaret Craven is an American politician from Maine. Craven served as a Democratic State Senator from Maine's 16th District, representing Lewiston. She was first elected to office in 2002, when she won a seat in the Maine House of Representatives. She served in the House from 2002 to 2008, when she was elected to the Maine State Senate. She was re-elected in 2010 and 2012. In February 2014, Craven announced her retirement from Maine politics following the 2014 election, citing the need to take care of her ailing husband.
Thomas H. Martin Jr. is an American politician and businessperson.
The 2014 Maine gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the governor of Maine. Incumbent Republican governor Paul LePage won re-election to a second term, defeating Democratic nominee Mike Michaud, the U.S. representative from Maine's 2nd congressional district, and independent Eliot Cutler, an attorney and second-place finisher from the 2010 gubernatorial election. This is currently the most recent election that Maine elected a Republican governor. Primary elections were held on June 10, 2014.
Mohamud Noor is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Noor represents District 60B, which includes parts of the city of Minneapolis in Hennepin County.
Nathan Libby is an American Democratic former politician from Maine. He represented Senate District 21, which serves Lewiston, Maine's second-largest city. Libby grew up in central Maine and attended Bates College where he majored in history and economics. He also holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Southern Maine and works as an economic development consultant, currently as the president of Community Concepts Finance Corporation. Libby served one term in the Maine House of Representatives from 2012 to 2014 and was first elected to the Maine Senate in 2014. He served as the Senate majority leader from 2018-2020.
As of 2013, there were around 10,000 Somalis in Lewiston and Portland. In 2022 the number shrunk to around 6,000.
Sara I. Gideon is an American politician who served as the Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party from Freeport, she represented the 48th district in the Maine House of Representatives, which includes part of Freeport and Pownal in Cumberland County.
The 2020 United States Senate election in Maine was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Maine, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections. This was Maine's first election for its Class 2 seat to use its ranked choice voting system. Because the first round of the general election saw a majority, the instant runoff tabulation of more than 800,000 ballots was not carried out.
The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine were held on November 6, 2018, to elect the two U.S. representatives from the state of Maine, one from each of the state's two congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other offices, including a gubernatorial election, other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections.
Jared Forrest Golden is an American politician and a Marine Corps veteran serving as the U.S. Representative for Maine's 2nd congressional district since 2019.
Safiya Said Khalid is a Somali-American politician who served as a member of the Lewiston, Maine City Council.
The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine were held on November 8, 2022, to elect the two U.S. representatives from the state of Maine, one from each of the state's two congressional districts. The elections coincided with other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. The elections were conducted with ranked choice voting, as per the result of a referendum passed in 2016. These were the first House of Representatives elections held in Maine following the 2020 redistricting cycle.
Laurel Dawson Munsell Libby is an American anti-vaccine activist, Republican politician and interior designer from Maine. She is the representative for Maine House District 64, representing Minot and part of Auburn. She was elected to the Maine House in November 2020, 2022 and 2024.
Michael Perkins is an American politician from Maine. A Republican, Perkins has represented the 77th district in the Maine House of Representatives since 2016. He has worked as a police officer and small business owner. In June 2021, Perkins declared his candidacy for the 2022 election in Maine's 2nd congressional district. He dropped out of the race in December 2021, citing a recent battle with COVID-19.
Deqa Dhalac is a member of the Maine House of Representatives for the 120th District. A Somali emigrant, she served as the mayor of South Portland, Maine from 2021 to 2022, becoming the first African-born female mayor in the United States. Alongside Mana Abdi, she is the first Somali-American to serve as a Maine legislator.