Sam Meas (born ) is a

Haverhill, Massachusetts Haverhill ( ) is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Haverhill is located 35 miles north of Boston on the New Hampshire border and about 17 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The population was 67,787 at the 2020 United States Ce ...

-based political candidate who has run as both a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...

and later a Democrat. Meas is the first

Cambodian-American Cambodian Americans,; also Khmer Americans, are Americans of Cambodian or Khmer ancestry. In addition, Cambodian Americans are also Americans with ancestry of other ethnic groups of Cambodia, such as the Chams and Chinese Cambodians. Accordin ...

in U.S. history to run for Congress.

Personal life

He was born Meas Sombo, and grew up in Kandal Province, Cambodia. He lost his father to the

Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 197 ...

and was subsequently separated from his mother and sisters during the

Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Over ...

. He fled Cambodia with a cousin and ended up at the

Khao-I-Dang The Khao-I-Dang (KID) Holding Center ( th, เขาอีด่าง, km, ខាវអ៊ីដាង) was a Cambodian refugee camp 20 km north of Aranyaprathet in Prachinburi (now Ta Phraya District, Sa Kaeo Province, Thailand). The lo ...

refugee camp in Thailand. In 1986 he was sponsored as a refugee by

Catholic Charities USA Catholic Charities is a network of charities with headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. In 2005, ''Forbes'' magazine ranked it as the fifth largest charity in the United States in terms of total revenue. The organization serves millions of peop ...

and moved to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

, where he lived with a foster family. He did not know his exact date of birth at the time; an examination by an orthodontist engaged by the Immigration and Naturalization Service estimated his year of birth to be between 1970 and 1972. As a result, Meas chose 31 December 1972 as his legal date of birth, not knowing that the date he had chosen,

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the December 31, last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly ...

, was a major holiday in the United States. In 1996, Meas graduated from

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

with a degree in finance. Meas is married to his wife Leah and together they have two children, Monique and Sydney. Meas and his wife currently reside in

Career

In 2010, Meas unsuccessfully ran for a seat in

Massachusetts's 5th congressional district Massachusetts's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in eastern Massachusetts. The district is represented by Katherine Clark. Massachusetts congressional redistricting after the 2010 census has changed the borders of the distri ...

, which includes the cities of Haverhill, Lawrence and Lowell. This made him the first

in U.S. history to run for Congress. In 2012, Meas was a Republican candidate for the Massachusetts State Senate (First Essex District). He lost the 6 September primary election to fellow Republican Shaun Toohey, who received 70% of the votes. Meas went on to work as a campaign manager for

Rady Mom Rady Mom (born 1970) is an American politician and a representative in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, representing the 18th Middlesex district. The district was formerly represented by Kevin Murphy, who vacated his seat in 2014 when ...

, but the two men later had a falling-out. He challenged Mom unsuccessfully for the 18th Middlesex District seat in the 2018 Massachusetts general election. Outside of politics, Meas has worked at the

State Street Corporation State Street Corporation is an American financial services and bank holding company headquartered at One Lincoln Street in Boston with operations worldwide. It is the second-oldest continually operating United States bank; its predecessor, Uni ...

and also owns a grocery store in

Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn is the eighth-largest municipality in Massachusetts and the largest city in Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line at Suffolk Downs, Lynn is part of Greater Boston's urban inner core. Settled by Eu ...

. He has served on the board of directors of the North Suffolk Mental Association.

References

External links

Sam Meas for Congress official websiteLowell's Cambodian Leaders Say More Need to Stand Up and Be Counted
Perry, Dave. ''Lowell Sun'', 26 October 2009, p. 1
GOP Field for Congress widens
Murphy, Matt ''Lowell Sun'' 23 November 2009, p. 1 1970s births American people of Cambodian descent Asian-American people in Massachusetts politics Living people Massachusetts Republicans Politicians from Haverhill, Massachusetts People from Kandal province Virginia Tech alumni {{Massachusetts-politician-stub