PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 8, 2026
Former state Rep. Denise Harlow, 55, a progressive who represented Portland and an elite marathoner who qualified in 2000 for the U.S. Olympic Trials, died Sunday from cancer. Harlow represented Portland in the Maine House of Representatives from 2010 to 2018. She was most passionate about nature, and served on the Legislature’s committees dealing with the environment and inland fisheries and wildlife.