John Eder

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John Eder
Member of the Maine House of Representatives from the 118th district
In office January 2003 – January 2007
Preceded by	Mike Saxl
Succeeded by	Jon Hinck
Personal details
Born	(1969-01-18) January 18, 1969 (age 55) Brooklyn, New York
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican (since 2024) Democratic (2018–2024) Green (formerly)
Spouse	Lauren Besanko
Children	1
Residence	Waterboro, Maine
Alma mater	University of Southern Maine
Occupation	Outreach Coordinator at Health Choice Maine
Profession	Political Consultant
Website	www.john4me.com

John Eder (born January 18, 1969) is an American activist and politician from Maine. Eder lives in Waterboro. He is a former member of the Maine Green Independent Party and the Maine Democratic Party. He served in the Maine House of Representatives as the legislature's first member of the Green Party for two terms and was elected in 2002 and re-elected in 2004. Until his defeat in 2006 Eder was one of only a handful of independent or third party state legislators in the country and was the highest-ranking elected Green official in the United States. Eder ran for Mayor of Portland, Maine in 2011.^[1] In 2014, Eder won a race for an at-large seat on the Portland Board of Education.^[2][3]

In 2018, Eder unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for a seat in the Maine House of Representatives in Biddeford. He claimed that "Democratic values" moved him to join the party.^[4] Eder had previously supported Democrats while maintaining his Green voter registration, including future Portland Mayor Ethan Strimling.^[5] Eder became a Republican in 2024, and again sought a seat in the State House of Representatives.