A 31-year-old former Maine state senator and self-described “Liberty Republican” officially announced a 2020 congressional bid for Maine’s 2nd district Tuesday.
Eric Brakey is the only Republican to announce a 2020 bid against first-term Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, according to Federal Election Commission paperwork, which Brakey filed in July.
“I’m running for Congress because my time in the Maine State Senate showed me that liberty is an unstoppable force, even in government, when the right person is fighting for it. What I did for Mainers, I will bring to Washington, D.C., and create that same impact for my state and the rest of our great Republic,” Brakey said in a statement.
I believe in a #FreeMaine and a Free America. That means putting Washington DC back in it’s place, having them follow the Constitution again.https://t.co/SaZgrsFBKG
— Eric Brakey (@SenatorBrakey) September 16, 2019
Voters elected Brakey to the state Senate for Maine’s District 20 in 2014 and reelected him in 2016; he also served as chairman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, according to his website.
Brakey helped pass a “constitutional carry” bill and “right-to-try” legislation and introduced welfare reform as a state senator, “all while increasing access to medical cannabis for Mainers with debilitating conditions and working with local 6th graders to legalize hedgehogs as pets,” his website says.
The former Maine state senator supports individual liberty, freedom from big government and free markets. His competitor who currently serves Maine’s 2nd district, Golden, is trying to push a socialized health care plan in the Democratic-controlled House. (RELATED: Some Freshman Democrats Want Party Leadership To Stop Stonewalling Trump On Border Security, Immigration)
My healthcare roadmap includes measures to boost Medicaid expansion, allow Mainers 50+ to buy into Medicare, and reduce drug costs as we move towards universal coverage and #MedicareforAll.
More info here: https://t.co/lymA1N4IIl pic.twitter.com/y57ywvofgO
— Congressman Jared Golden (@RepGolden) March 7, 2019
“When people find out the extent of my opponent’s love for socialism and big government, they’ll be counting the days until they can vote him out,” Brakey said.
Conservative political action committee Club for Growth endorsed Brakey on Sept. 13.
“Eric Brakey has beaten an incumbent Democrat in the past, and we think he’s the candidate to take on Jared Golden, a radical liberal who has voted with full-blown Socialist Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez [of New York] even more often than leftist Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi,” Club for Growth President David McIntosh said in a statement.
“Golden is not a good fit for a district that President [Donald] Trump won by ten points, and Brakey, a pro-growth, liberty-minded conservative, is the candidate to take on Golden and win,” he continued.
Brakey responded to the endorsement, saying, “I am proud to receive the support of the Club for Growth, an endorsement only given to the most principled fiscal conservatives running in winnable races. For two terms, I fought to protect the freedoms and paychecks of Maine people in the Maine Senate — and I will fight just as passionately for the Maine people in Congress.”
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