{{short description|American politician (born 1985)}} {{Infobox officeholder | image = DirigoPublicAffairs-8.jpg | caption = Mason in 2023 | name = Garrett Mason | office1 = Member of the Androscoggin County Commission<br>from the 4th district | term_start1 = January 2021 | term_end1 = | predecessor1 = Isaiah Lary | successor1 = | office2 = Majority Leader of the Maine Senate | term_start2 = December 3, 2014 | term_end2 = December 5, 2018 | predecessor2 = Troy Jackson | successor2 = Nate Libby | state_senate4 = Maine | district4 = 22nd | term_start4 = December 3, 2014 | term_end4 = December 5, 2018 | predecessor4 = Edward Mazurek | successor4 = Jeff Timberlake | state_senate5 = Maine | district5 = 17th | term_start5 = December 8, 2010 | term_end5 = December 3, 2014 | predecessor5 = John Nutting | successor5 = Thomas Saviello | birth_name = Garrett Paul Mason | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1985|6|19}} | birth_place = Lewiston, Maine, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | party = Republican | spouse = Rebekah Lynch | children = 1 | education = Pensacola Christian College (BA) }} '''Garrett Paul Mason''' (born June 19, 1985) is an American Republican politician and businessman from Maine. He has served as an Androscoggin County Commissioner since 2021, after previously representing Districts 17 and 22 in the Maine Senate from 2010 to 2018, where he was elected Majority Leader. Mason was a candidate in the 2018 Republican gubernatorial primary where he finished second.
==Early life and career== Mason was born on June 19, 1985, in Lewiston, Maine, and graduated from Calvary Christian Academy in Turner in 2003. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in marketing from Pensacola Christian College in Pensacola, Florida, in 2006.
Before entering politics, Mason worked in sports management. He was employed by the Portland Sea Dogs, a Double-A baseball team, and later served as director of administration for the Lewiston Maineiacs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
In 2018, Pensacola Christian College awarded him an honorary doctorate in Humanities.<ref>{{cite web |title=PCC Update Summer 2018 |url=https://static.pcci.edu/PCC/Update/PDFs/Archived/2018/PCCUpdateSummer2018.pdf |publisher=Pensacola Christian College |date=Summer 2018 |access-date=September 12, 2025 |page=12}}</ref>
==Political career== Mason began his political career in 2010, when at the age of 25 he was elected to the Maine Senate after defeating 18-year incumbent John Nutting.<ref name="Hannon">{{cite news|url=http://www.sunjournal.com/state/story/933442|title=Mason unseats Nutting for Senate seat|last=Hannon|first=Andie|date=November 3, 2010|work=Lewiston Sun Journal|accessdate=25 November 2011}}</ref> He went on to represent District 17 until 2014 and District 22 from 2014 to 2018.<ref>{{cite web |title=Garrett Mason |website=Ballotpedia |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Garrett_Mason |access-date=September 12, 2025}}</ref> Mason was re-elected in 2012 by 28 votes over Democrat Colleen Quint of Minot.<ref name="Recount">{{cite web|url=http://www.maine.gov/sos/news/2012/recountssenatedist17.html|title=Secretary of State Announces Senate District 17 Recount Results and Schedule for Upcoming Recounts|accessdate=14 June 2013}}</ref>
During his first term, Mason sponsored legislation to allow charter schools in Maine, which was signed into law by Governor Paul LePage in June 2011.<ref name="CharterSchools">{{cite news|url=http://bangordailynews.com/2011/06/29/politics/lepage-signs-bill-to-allow-charter-schools-in-maine/?ref=search|title=LePage signs bill to allow charter schools in Maine|work=Bangor Daily News|publisher=Associated Press|accessdate=14 June 2013}}</ref>
After Republicans took control of the Maine Senate in 2014, Mason was elected by his colleagues as Senate Majority Leader, a position he held until he was term-limited in 2018.<ref>{{cite web |title=Garrett Mason |website=Ballotpedia |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Garrett_Mason |access-date=September 12, 2025}}</ref> That year, he ran for Governor of Maine, finishing second to Shawn Moody in the Republican primary.<ref>{{cite news |title=Shawn Moody wins Republican nomination for governor |work=WMTW |date=June 13, 2018 |url=https://www.wmtw.com/article/sean-moody-wins-republican-nomination/21084019 |access-date=September 12, 2025}}</ref>
In January 2021, Mason was appointed to the Androscoggin County Commission to fill the vacancy left by Isaiah Lary.<ref>{{cite web |title=Androscoggin County Elected Officials |url=https://www.androscoggincountymaine.gov/198/Elected-Officials |website=Androscoggin County, Maine |access-date=September 12, 2025}}</ref> He was elected to a full four-year term in 2024, with that term set to expire on December 31, 2028.<ref>{{cite web |title=Androscoggin County Elected Officials |url=https://www.androscoggincountymaine.gov/198/Elected-Officials |website=Androscoggin County, Maine |access-date=September 12, 2025}}</ref>
==Electoral history==
===Maine Senate District 17 Republican primary, 2010=== {| class="wikitable" ! Candidate !! colspan="2" | Party !! Votes !! % |- | Garrett Mason || {{Full party name with color|Republican Party (United States)}} || 1,975 || 58.0% |- | Russell W. Pack || {{Full party name with color|Republican Party (United States)}} || 1,432 || 42.0% |} <ref name="ME2010Primary">{{cite web |title=2010 Primary Election Results |url=https://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/results/results10.html |publisher=Maine Secretary of State |access-date=September 12, 2025}}</ref>
===Maine Senate District 17 general election, 2010=== {| class="wikitable" ! Candidate !! colspan="2" | Party !! Votes !! % |- | Garrett Mason || {{Full party name with color|Republican Party (United States)}} || 9,047 || 55.7% <ref name="ME2010">{{cite web |title=2010 General Election Results |url=https://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/results/results10.html |publisher=Maine Secretary of State |access-date=September 12, 2025}}</ref> |- | John Nutting (incumbent) || {{Full party name with color|Democratic Party (United States)}} || 7,357 || 44.3% <ref name="ME2010" /> |- | Blank votes || colspan="2" | — || 1,275 || — |}
===Maine Senate District 17 general election, 2012=== {| class="wikitable" ! Candidate !! colspan="2" | Party !! Votes !! % |- | Garrett Mason (incumbent) || {{Full party name with color|Republican Party (United States)}} || 9,818 || 50.1% <ref name="ME2012">{{cite web |title=2012 General Election Results |url=https://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/results/results12.html |publisher=Maine Secretary of State |access-date=September 12, 2025}}</ref> |- | Colleen Quint || {{Full party name with color|Democratic Party (United States)}} || 9,790 || 49.9% <ref name="ME2012" /> |- | Blank votes || colspan="2" | — || 1,100 || — |}
===Maine Senate District 22 general election, 2014=== {| class="wikitable" ! Candidate !! colspan="2" | Party !! Votes !! % |- | Garrett Mason (incumbent) || {{Full party name with color|Republican Party (United States)}} || 9,633 || 57.0% <ref name="ME2014">{{cite web |title=2014 General Election Results |url=https://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/results/results14.html |publisher=Maine Secretary of State |access-date=September 12, 2025}}</ref> |- | Guy Desjardins || {{Full party name with color|Democratic Party (United States)}} || 7,264 || 43.0% <ref name="ME2014" /> |- | Blank votes || colspan="2" | — || 847 || — |}
===Maine Senate District 22 general election, 2016=== {| class="wikitable" ! Candidate !! colspan="2" | Party !! Votes !! % |- | Garrett Mason (incumbent) || {{Full party name with color|Republican Party (United States)}} || 13,774 || 67.0% <ref name="ME2016">{{cite web |title=2016 General Election Results |url=https://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/results/results16.html |publisher=Maine Secretary of State |access-date=September 12, 2025}}</ref> |- | Richard N. Fochtmann || {{Full party name with color|Democratic Party (United States)}} || 6,777 || 33.0% <ref name="ME2016" /> |- | Blank votes || colspan="2" | — || 987 || — |}
===Maine Republican gubernatorial primary, 2018=== {| class="wikitable" ! Candidate !! colspan="2" | Party !! Votes !! % |- | Shawn Moody || {{Full party name with color|Republican Party (United States)}} || 53,436 || 56.0% <ref name="Ballot2018">{{cite web |title=Maine Republican gubernatorial primary, 2018 |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Maine_gubernatorial_election,_2018_(June_12_Republican_primary) |publisher=Ballotpedia |access-date=September 12, 2025}}</ref> |- | Garrett Mason || {{Full party name with color|Republican Party (United States)}} || 21,571 || 22.6% <ref name="Ballot2018" /> |- | Mary Mayhew || {{Full party name with color|Republican Party (United States)}} || 14,034 || 14.7% <ref name="Ballot2018" /> |- | Kenneth Fredette || {{Full party name with color|Republican Party (United States)}} || 5,341 || 5.6% <ref name="Ballot2018" /> |}
===Androscoggin County Commissioner District 4 general election, 2022=== {| class="wikitable" ! Candidate !! colspan="2" | Party !! Votes !! % |- | Garrett Mason || {{Full party name with color|Republican Party (United States)}} || 4,375 || 61.3% <ref name="ME2022">{{cite web |title=2022 General Election Results |url=https://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/results/results22.html |publisher=Maine Secretary of State |access-date=September 12, 2025}}</ref> |- | Gregory F. Bianconi || {{Full party name with color|Democratic Party (United States)}} || 2,763 || 38.7% <ref name="ME2022" /> |- | Blank votes || colspan="2" | — || 248 || — |}
===Androscoggin County Commissioner District 4 general election, 2024=== {| class="wikitable" ! Candidate !! colspan="2" | Party !! Votes !! % |- | Garrett Mason (incumbent) || {{Full party name with color|Republican Party (United States)}} || 7,126 || 76.9% <ref name="ME2024">{{cite web |title=2024 General Election Results |url=https://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/results/results24.html |publisher=Maine Secretary of State |access-date=September 12, 2025}}</ref> |- | Blank votes || colspan="2" | — || 2,144 || 23.1% <ref name="ME2024" /> |}
==Professional career== Outside of politics, Mason has been active in business and media. He founded Dirigo Public Affairs, a public relations and crisis management firm, and has worked with clients across New England.<ref>{{cite web |last=Cover |first=Susan |title=Maine legislative races to heat up heading into November |work=Spectrum Local News |date=September 4, 2024 |url=https://spectrumlocalnews.com/me/maine/politics/2024/09/04/you-may-know-who-you-support-for-president--but-do-you-know-who-you-will-vote-for-in-the-maine-legislature- |access-date=September 12, 2025}}</ref>
He has also been involved in real estate development and other entrepreneurial ventures. <!-- REF NEEDED -->
In addition, Mason appears as a conservative political commentator on News Center Maine, Maine’s NBC affiliate, where he provides analysis on state and national politics.<ref>{{cite news |title=BJ McCollister (Democrat), Garrett Mason (Republican) discuss DNC, presidential election |work=News Center Maine |date=August 26, 2024 |url=https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/politics/maine-political-brew/bj-mccollister-democrat-garrett-mason-republican-dnc-presidential-election/97-cf049675-c89e-4bf6-b6be-5cf35ded417c |access-date=September 12, 2025}}</ref>
==Family== Mason's mother Gina Mason and their cousin Dale J. Crafts also served in the Maine Legislature. After his mother died in September 2017, his father Rick Mason won a special election to fill her vacant seat.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!-- no byline --> |title=Maine representative passes away unexpectedly |url=https://wgme.com/news/local/rep-gina-mason-passes-away |accessdate=12 January 2020 |work=WGME |date=September 6, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Cousins |first1=Christopher |title=Maine Senate leader’s mom running for House seat |url=http://stateandcapitol.bangordailynews.com/2016/02/29/maine-senate-leaders-mom-running-for-house-seat/ |accessdate=12 January 2020 |work=State & Capitol |publisher=Bangor Daily News |date=February 29, 2016}}</ref><ref>'Late Maine lawmaker's husband will succeed her in Lisbon seat,' '''Bangor Daily News (Maine),''' Michael Shepherd, November 7, 2017</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-me-sen}} {{s-bef|before=Troy Jackson}} {{s-ttl|title=Majority Leader of the Maine Senate|years=2014–2018}} {{s-aft|after=Nate Libby}} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Garrett}} Category:1985 births Category:21st-century members of the Maine Legislature Category:Art Institute of Pittsburgh alumni Category:Living people Category:Pensacola Christian College alumni Category:People from Lisbon, Maine Category:Politicians from Lewiston, Maine Category:Republican Party Maine state senators Category:Southern New Hampshire University alumni