Meagan Simonaire

Meagan C. Simonaire (born August 8, 1990) is a former American politician from Maryland and was the youngest member of the Maryland General Assembly. She represented House District 31B (which includes Pasadena and portions of Glen Burnie, Millersville and Severna Park) in the Maryland House of Delegates from 2014 to 2018. She is the daughter of Maryland State Senator Bryan Simonaire.

Meagan Simonaire
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates
from the 31B district
In office
January 14, 2015 – January 9, 2019
Preceded byDon H. Dwyer Jr.
Succeeded byBrian Chisholm
Personal details
Born (1990-08-18) August 18, 1990
Pasadena, Maryland
Political partyDemocratic (since 2018)
Republican (before 2018)
FatherBryan Simonaire
EducationBob Jones University

Early life

Simonaire is the third of seven brothers and sisters, and spent most of her childhood in the Middle East where her father worked as an engineer for Northrup Grumman.[1]

After she moved to the U.S., she attended Bob Jones University in South Carolina to study cosmetology.[1]

Political career

Maryland House of Delegates

Simonaire was elected to the House of Delegates in 2014 to one of the two seats in House District 31B. After a competitive primary, Simonaire beat out several other candidates to win a seat alongside then House Minority Leader Nic Kipke, replacing incumbent Don Dwyer who was defeated after a string of legal issues.[2]

Views on conversion therapy

Simonaire publicly came out as bisexual in April 2018 while supporting a bill banning conversion therapy for LGBT teens. In a speech on the House floor, she claimed her parents suggested conversion therapy after she came out to them in January 2015.[3][4] Her father, Senator Bryan Simonaire, disputed her story[5] and continued to oppose the bill. The bill was ultimately passed by both the House of Delegates and Senate.

Elected as a Republican, Simonaire joined the Democratic Party on October 15, 2018.[6][7]

Personal life

Simonaire chose not to run for reelection in 2018 and retired from elected office due to her changing views. She is working as a cosmetic tattoo artist with burn patients, cancer patients and others to create the appearance of hair.[8][9]

Electoral history
  • 2014 Republican Primary Election for Maryland House of Delegates – District 31B[10]
Voters to choose two:
Name Votes Percent Outcome
Nic Kipke, Rep. 3,920   31.00%    Won
Meagan Simonaire, Rep. 3,075   24.30%    Won
Gus Kurtz, Rep. 1,779   14.10%    Lost
Brian A. Chisholm, Rep. 1,607   12.70%    Lost
Faith M. Loudon, Rep. 1,017     8.10%    Lost
Don Dwyer, Jr., Rep.    890     7.00%    Lost
Paul William Drgos, Jr., Rep.    230     1.80%    Lost
David Lee Therrien, Rep.    111     0.90%    Lost
  • 2014 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – 31B District[11]
Voters to choose two:
NameVotesPercentOutcome
Nic Kipke, Republican20,858  39.9%  Won
Meagan C. Simonaire, Republican19,555  37.4%  Won
Jeremiah Chiappelli, Democratic  6,332  12.1%   Lost
Doug Morris, Democratic  5,394  10.3%   Lost
Other Write-Ins       88    0.2%
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References
  1. Thompson, Steve (April 20, 2018). "Why a bisexual Republican lawmaker took aim at her father's views". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  2. Wood, Pamela (May 3, 2014). "In Pasadena, fellow Republicans line up to challenge Don Dwyer". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  3. Cook, Chase (April 4, 2018). "Pasadena delegate says her father, a state senator, sought conversion therapy for her". The Capital. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  4. Lavers, Michael K. (April 21, 2018). "Bisexual Md. lawmaker talks coming out, conversion therapy speech". Washington Blade.
  5. Simonaire, Bryan (April 5, 2018). "Bryan Simonaire: My family's story and my vote on conversion ban were distorted". The Capital.
  6. Chason, Rachel (October 15, 2018). "Md. lawmaker who came out as bisexual changes party affiliation". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  7. "Simonaire joins Democratic Party". Facebook. October 15, 2018.
  8. Marbella, Jean (January 19, 2019). "Federal lawsuit seeks to overturn Maryland's ban on conversion therapy". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 19, 2019. ... she decided not to seek another term because her views had changed so much. While she doesn't rule out running for office again in the future, for now she is working as a cosmetic tattoo artist in Northern Virginia.
  9. Cook, Chase (October 9, 2017). "Meagan Simonaire reverses decision, won't seek second term as delegate from Pasadena". The Capital. Retrieved January 19, 2019. ... She works as a specialized cosmetologist, working with burn patients, cancer patients and others to create the appearance of hair.
  10. "Official 2014 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for House of Delegates". Maryland State Board of Elections. July 16, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  11. "2014 House of Delegates Results". Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
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