U.S. Congress Maine 2nd

Jared was born and raised in Leeds, a small, rural town in Maine's 2nd Congressional District. Growing up, he attended public school, before enrolling at the University of Maine, Farmington, in 2001. As a college freshman, Jared planned to be a high school history teacher. Shortly after he began his first year, however, the Sept. 11 attacks took place, and his life changed. Like so many people, Jared felt compelled to act in the wake of the attacks. Both of his grandfathers had served in World War II, and with them in mind, Jared chose to put college on hold and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. Jared served four years in the military as a Marine Corps infantryman, deploying to Afghanistan in 2004, and Iraq in 2005-2006. After completing his military service, and longing to return to Maine, Jared left the Marine Corps in honorable standing and moved home to Lewiston/Auburn. As is the experience of so many veterans, the transition from military to civilian life was not easy. Jared took the first job he could find—a low-wage position at a motorhome sales center. Soon after, he was forced to pick up a second and third jobs, working nights and weekends, just to get by. One night, while working an evening shift at a pizza shop in Auburn, Jared caught a break. He met and befriended a Bates College dean, who eventually encouraged him to apply to Bates. Much to Jared's surprise, he was accepted. Thanks to a government education benefit earned through his military service, Jared was able to attend and graduate from Bates College in 2011 debt-free. After going back to Afghanistan to work as a volunteer school teacher and serving as a professional staff member on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for Senator Susan Collins, Jared was elected to represent Lewiston in the Maine House of Representatives in 2014. In his second term in the Maine House of Representatives, Jared was chosen by his peers to serve as the Democratic Assistant Majority Leader, or whip. As a Democratic leader in Augusta, Jared has built a record of success fighting for middle- and working-class people. He has fought passionately for expanded access to health care, stronger unions, fairer wages, cleaner energy, better environmental standards, equal rights for women and minorities, and lower prescription medication costs for Maine's seniors. Jared continues to stand up for his community and his beliefs, and he has been able to deliver real results to the people he was elected to serve.