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 New England town, town in Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,711 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is included in both the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan statistical area and the Lewis ...

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 ...

, where he served from 2008 to 2016. In 2020, Crafts was the Republican nominee in his unsuccessful bid against

Jared Golden Jared Forrest Golden (born July 25, 1982) is an American politician and United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps veteran serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Maine's 2nd congressional district since 2018 ...

for the

U.S. House The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

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 92% of the state's total land area. The district comprises most of the land area north of the Portland and Augusta metr ...

. He has been

paralyzed Paralysis (: paralyses; also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, r ...

from the waist down since the age of 25, when he was hit by a driver 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 most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

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

Maine Legislature The Maine State Legislature is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral body composed of the lower house Maine House of Representatives and the upper house Maine Senate. ...

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 The year 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 even ...

after defeating realtor Adrienne Bennett and former

state Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

Eric Brakey 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 is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

endorsed Crafts on August 1, 2020. As

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

uses ranked-choice voting, 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

in the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

. 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 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 American politicians with disabilities Candidates in the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections 21st-century members of the Maine Legislature {{Maine-MERepresentative-stub