Rep. Deqa Dhalac, D-South Portland, in House chamber of the Maine State House in Augusta in January. The operation began last week and had coincided with a crackdown in Minnesota that targeted its sizable Somali population. The statement from Dhalac also came after a man rushed and sprayed an unknown substance on U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota, during a Tuesday town hall put on by the prominent Somali American lawmaker. In 2022, Dhalac joined Rep. Mana Abdi, D-Lewiston, as the first Somali American members of the Legislature. Maine State Building and Construction Trades Council President Jason Shedlock will run for the reliably blue seat, Dhalac said.