South Portland Mayor Deqa Dhalac, the first Somali-American mayor in the United States, announced last week that she is running for the Maine House of Representatives.

Dhalac received the Democratic nomination for Maine House District 120, formerly District 33, which includes the city’s District 5 and parts of Districts 3 and 4, after incumbent Victoria Morales decided not to run again.

Morales was unopposed in her bid for her party’s nomination in the June primary before withdrawing from the race and endorsing Dhalac.

Another Somali-American woman, Mana Adbi, is running for the District 95 seat in Lewiston. If elected, Adbi and Dhalac would be the first Somali-Americans to serve in the Maine Legislature.

Dhalac will face Republican candidate Michael Dougherty in the November election.

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