SANFORD – A Portland lawyer on Friday became the fourth Democrat to throw his hat into the ring for the 2008 1st District congressional race.

Adam Cote, 34, will run for the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Tom Allen, who is running to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins in the 2008 election.

In announcing his candidacy, Cote said he knows about foreign policy firsthand after serving in Bosnia as a member of the U.S. Army Reserves and later in Iraq with the Maine National Guard. While in Iraq, he was in a mess tent when a suicide attack claimed the lives of two Mainers.

Cote said he also knows about struggles of working-class families, having come from one. Cote, a Sanford native, made his announcement at Nasson Community Center, where his grandmother once worked as a dishwasher.

Cote now lives in Portland, where he works for Pierce Atwood law firm. He and his wife, Paulina, have two daughters.