Dale John Crafts (born December 14, 1958) is an American politician and businessman. He has started a number of businesses, including Mobility Plus, which helps people with disabilities drive more easily. Crafts was on the

Lisbon, Maine Lisbon is a town in Androscoggin County, Maine. The population was 9,711 at the 2020 census. It is included in both the Lewiston- Auburn, Maine metropolitan statistical area and the Lewiston–Auburn, Maine Metropolitan New England city and tow ...

Town Council before winning election to the

Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via p ...

, where he served from 2008 to 2016. Crafts was the Republican nominee in the 2020 election for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

Maine's 2nd congressional district Maine's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Maine. Covering , it comprises nearly 80% of the state's total land area. The district comprises most of the land area north of the Portland and Augusta metro ...

. He has been paralyzed from the waist down since the age of 25, when he was hit by a car while riding his motorcycle.

Early life and family

Crafts was born in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

, and raised in

Lisbon Falls, Maine Lisbon Falls is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Lisbon, located in Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population of Lisbon Falls was 4,100 at the 2010 census. It is included in both the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine, metropol ...

. Crafts' cousins: Garrett Mason, Gina Mason, and Rick Mason also served in the Maine Legislature.

Business career

After he was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident at age 25, Crafts started a company called Mobility Plus, which helps people with disabilities drive more easily. Crafts has started a number of other businesses, including a self-storage business.

2020 U.S. House election

Crafts became the Republican nominee for

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

after defeating realtor Adrienne Bennett and former

state Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

Eric Brakey Eric Brakey (born August 8, 1988) is an American politician in the U.S. state of Maine. Brakey was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and grew up in the greater suburb of Shaker Heights, Ohio before attending Ohio University, where he studied theater perf ...

in a three-way primary election. President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

endorsed Crafts on August 1, 2020. As

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

uses

ranked-choice voting Ranked-choice voting may be used as a synonym for: * Ranked voting, a term used for any voting system in which voters are asked to rank candidates in order of preference * Instant-runoff voting (IRV), a specific ranked voting system with single-w ...

, he was in first place with just under 46% of the vote in the first round. In the second round, he won with 58.5% of the vote. He faced Democratic incumbent

Jared Golden Jared Forrest Golden (born July 25, 1982) is an American politician and a Marine Corps veteran serving as the U.S. representative for Maine's 2nd congressional district since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, his district, the largest eas ...

in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. On November 3, 2020, Golden won reelection with 53% of the vote to Crafts' 47%.

References

External links

*
Profile at Ballotpedia
, - 1958 births 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American politicians Businesspeople from Maine Living people Maine city council members Republican Party members of the Maine House of Representatives People from Lisbon, Maine Politicians from Fort Lauderdale, Florida Politicians with paraplegia {{Maine-politician-stub