{"id":1353,"date":"2026-04-30T22:31:47","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T22:31:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/voterguide.local\/?p=1353"},"modified":"2026-05-26T12:13:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T12:13:35","slug":"mana-h-abdi-ss-21","status":"publish","type":"candidate","link":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/mana-h-abdi-ss-21\/","title":{"rendered":"Mana H Abdi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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About the Candidate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Lewiston resident for 17 years, community organizer and current State Representative. Known for bridging communities and making government more accessible to working families.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Education<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Lewiston Middle School and Lewiston High School; B.A. in Political Science and International and Global Studies, University of Maine at Farmington.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Previous campaigns and elected office(s) held<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Elected to the Maine House of Representatives (District 95) in 2022 and reelected in 2024; currently serving my second term representing Lewiston.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Why are you running?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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I am running because Lewiston needs a proven, grounded leader who understands what working families are facing and delivers results. I have lived these challenges and spent my time in office building coalitions, advancing housing solutions and strengthening public education. At a time when our communities face real threats, we need leadership that is rooted, responsive and ready to fight.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Top three priorities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Addressing the housing crisis by increasing supply and preventing displacement. Strengthening public education by fully funding schools and supporting educators. Improving public safety through community investment, reentry support and mental health and substance use services.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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If you could change one thing about how Augusta functions, what would it be and why?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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I would make the legislative process more accessible and accountable to the public. Too often, hearings start late and people wait hours just to speak. That sends the message that their time does not matter. If we want real public engagement, we need clearer scheduling and a process that actually respects the people it is meant to serve.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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What is the biggest challenge facing Maine? The biggest opportunity?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The biggest challenge facing Maine is the rising cost of living, especially housing, which is pushing working families out of stability. We are also losing young people who do not see a future here. The opportunity is to change that by investing in housing and building a stronger workforce by investing in workers, wages and opportunity so people can stay and build their lives in Maine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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As one of several dozen legislators in your chamber, how would you make a measurable difference for your constituents?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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As someone who grew up in Lewiston and is deeply connected to multiple communities, I bring people into the process and make sure their voices are reflected in decisions. I have served as a bridge between constituents and Augusta, turning concerns into action on policy and budgets. I will focus on measurable results in housing, workforce and public safety that improve people\u2019s day-to-day lives.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1959,"template":"","meta":{"voter_guide_candidate_first_name":"Mana","voter_guide_candidate_middle_name":"H","voter_guide_candidate_last_name":"Abdi","voter_guide_candidate_suffix":"","voter_guide_candidate_race_id":2171,"voter_guide_candidate_age":30,"voter_guide_candidate_hometown":"","voter_guide_candidate_occupation":"Community organizer","voter_guide_candidate_bio":"","voter_guide_candidate_education":"","voter_guide_candidate_years_in_state":0,"voter_guide_candidate_years_in_municipality":0,"voter_guide_candidate_time_in_area":"17 years","voter_guide_candidate_website":"","voter_guide_candidate_headshot_url":"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/open?id=1dHBuynBQ3JDi9ZyJlIYqqkxGe6dV6oDw","voter_guide_candidate_date_filed":"3\/11\/2026","voter_guide_candidate_incumbent_years":"","voter_guide_candidate_is_clean_elections":false,"footnotes":""},"vg_party":[1073],"vg_residence_municipality":[491],"class_list":["post-1353","candidate","type-candidate","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","vg_party-democratic","vg_residence_municipality-lewiston"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/1353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/candidate"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/1353\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3789,"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/1353\/revisions\/3789"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"vg_party","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_party?post=1353"},{"taxonomy":"vg_residence_municipality","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_residence_municipality?post=1353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}