Former state Sen. Eric Brakey announced Tuesday that he is exploring a run for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District.
The Auburn Republican, who ran and lost against independent Sen. Angus King last year, would be seeking the seat held by Democrat Jared Golden, who defeated incumbent Republican Bruce Poliquin last year in Maine’s first ranked-choice election.
Brakey, 30, describes himself as a conservative libertarian.
“We deserve representation that will stand up for the freedoms and paychecks of all Maine people,” Brakey said in a statement posted on the Eric Brakey for Congress Facebook page. “I’m pleased to announce that, at the urging of many Maine people, I am actively exploring a run for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District.”
Brakey said he would make an official announcement of his intentions later this summer. Brakey refrained from criticizing his potential 2nd District opponent.
“If I decide to do this, we’re going to run a positive, idea driven campaign,” Brakey said in a telephone interview Tuesday evening. “We’ve got very different records from our time in the Legislature and I think that will speak volumes.”
Brakey said he has been approached by many people who have urged him to run for his former seat in the Maine Senate, representing District 20. The district includes Auburn, New Gloucester, Poland, Minot and Mechanic Falls.
Brakey was elected to the Senate seat in 2014 at the age of 26. He was re-elected in 2016, but gave up the seat to run against King. Brakey was soundly defeated by King, who frequently caucuses with Democrats in the Senate.
On his Facebook page, Brakey describes himself as the founder of the Free Maine Campaign. He launched the campaign in January, writing that after years of moving Maine forward, the state is in “deep danger of falling backward into the old days of nanny state government, robbing more of our paychecks and telling us how to live.”
Golden was declared the winner of Maine’s first ranked-choice congressional election in November. Poliquin, who had a slight edge in initial results but failed to gain a clear majority, prompting a ranked-choice retabulation, challenged the final results but in December dropped his challenge that claimed ranked-choice voting is unconstitutional.
Golden’s office declined to comment Tuesday evening.
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