Edmund Claxton Jr. is an American physician and Democratic politician from

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 ...

. He served in the

Maine Senate The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the st ...

representing District 20, which includes Auburn, Mechanic Falls,

Minot Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately north of the city. With a population of 48,377 at the 2 ...

, New Gloucester, and

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, from 2018-2022. Claxton was born in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

and attended

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, the

University of Cincinnati College of Medicine University of Cincinnati Health (UC Health) is the healthcare system of the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio. It trains health care professionals and provides research and patient care. The system is affiliated with the University via ...

, and the

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where he completed his family medicine residency. He then moved to Maine and co-founded a private practice in Auburn where he worked for several decades. Claxton was first elected to the Maine Senate in 2018 and was re-elected in 2020 for a second two-year term.

Early life and education

Claxton was born in Massachusetts and attended Princeton University, graduating in 1971. He received his

M.D. A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of physician. This ge ...

from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in 1975 and completed his residency in family medicine at the University of Minnesota in 1978.

Career

Physician

Following residency, Claxton moved to Maine and co-founded Family Healthcare Associates, a family medicine practice, with his colleague and friend Peter Elias in 1978. He practiced for almost forty years before retiring. In 1987, Claxton was named the first Maine Family Physician of the Year by the Maine Academy of Family Physicians. He served on the board of the Maine Public Health Association and was the director of the family medicine residency program at Central Maine Medical Center. Claxton has also medically supported large Maine community fundraisers including the Dempsey Challenge and the

Beach to Beacon 10K The TD Beach to Beacon 10K is a road running event that takes place along the coastline of Cape Elizabeth, Maine. It begins at Crescent Beach State Park and ends at the Portland Head Light in Fort Williams Park. Starting out as mainly a loc ...

. .

Maine Senate

Claxton announced his candidacy for Maine Senate District 20 in January 2018. He and his opponent, Republican Ellie Espling, sought to fill the seat vacated when incumbent

Eric Brakey Eric Brakey (born August 8, 1988) is an American politician and the Executive Director of the Free State Project. A libertarian member of the Republican Party, he served as a Maine state senator from 2014 to 2018, and again from 2022 to 2024. B ...

decided to run for

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

. Claxton ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and narrowly defeated Espling 50%-49%. In 2020, Claxton ran for re-election as a

Clean Elections A publicly funded election is an election funded with money collected through income tax donations or taxes as opposed to private or corporate-funded campaigns. In 1974, following the Watergate scandal, the U.S. Congress revised the Federal Ele ...

candidate against Republican challenger Matthew Leonard. Claxton was again unopposed in the Democratic primary and defeated Leonard 53%-47%.

Personal life

Claxton lives in Auburn with his wife Marian "Kitsie" Claxton, a former hospice chaplain. The Claxtons have two adult sons. Claxton is involved with several community organizations in the Auburn area, including the Stanton Bird Club, the Androscoggin Land Trust, the Trinity Jubilee Center, the Hanley Center for Healthcare Leadership, the Maine Appalachian Trail Club, and the

White Mountain National Forest The White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) is a federally managed forest contained within the White Mountains in the northeastern United States. It was established in 1918 as a result of the Weeks Act of 1911; federal acquisition of land had alre ...

. He was a Central Maine Medical Center trustee from 1983 to 1992, served on the board of the Maine Public Health Association from 2008 to 2014, was a trustee of the Maine College of Health Professions for 9 years, and co-chaired the Lewiston/Auburn Public Health Steering Committee for 2 years. Claxton is a member of the First Universalist Church in Auburn where he serves on the Endowment committee and sings in the choir. In his spare time, he enjoys outdoor recreation, gardening, bird watching, volunteering, completing home improvement projects, and reading. He coaches youth soccer, basketball and baseball and is a soccer referee. In January of 2024, Claxton was named president of the board of the Maine College of Health Professions.

Electoral record

References

External links

Sen. Ned Claxton (D - Androscoggin): Maine State LegislatureSen Ned Claxton: Official siteBallotpedia: Ned ClaxtonSenator Ned Claxton on FacebookSun Journal op ed, 22 February 2020: "Put an end to abusive billing practices, obscure fees"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Claxton, Ned Living people Politicians from Auburn, Maine Democratic Party Maine state senators Physicians from Maine Princeton University alumni University of Cincinnati alumni 1949 births 21st-century members of the Maine Legislature