The liberty movement has seen our political momentum stagnate in the past year, and with activist groups all over the country antsy to get back to the work of winning elections it appears a key race for our cause has arisen from the far Northeast, in the old Ron Paul 2012 stronghold of Maine. It is here that state senator Eric Brakey has announced that he is running for US Senate, challenging Independent Angus King for his seat. Brakey will be running on a libertarian platform that has arguably led to his enviable record of winning in traditionally Democrat areas, as he got into office by defeating longtime state Senator John Cleveland with 59% of the vote in 2014. Though he is just 28 years old, Brakey has a long history of experience in the liberty movement, having chaired both the Ron Paul and Rand Paul presidential campaigns in the state of Maine, as well as serving as a RNC delegate to both presidential nominating conventions.
At each convention, Brakey proved to be an unapologetic warrior for our cause, relentlessly advocating for liberty in every way imaginable. During the 2012 RNC he led a walkout in protest of the parties treatment of Congressman Ron Paul during that presidential election cycle, most notably not allowing Paul to speak and not even reading his delegate vote totals from the podium. That being said, Brakey may have topped that move with his spectacular RNC 2016 platform committee debate performance. Brakey argued passionately against the war in Libya, introducing a resolution to condemn it and making powerful arguments in that regard. Brakey unleashed a powerful attack on the brutal and thuggish nature of the neocon foreign policy, questioning the pro life credentials of those who support it and delivering a full throated condemnation of interventionism. Throughout the convention he also argued on important issues from right to try to congressional war powers, representing the liberty point of view boldly throughout.
Brakey has been featured on The Liberty Conservative before, making our “rising stars” list, and his history within the liberty movement is extensive. In addition to chairing the Ron and Rand Paul presidential campaigns in Maine, Brakey founded Defense of Liberty PAC, a PAC dedicated to promoting free markets in the Maine legislature. Brakey has an outstanding record of tangible accomplishment in the form of multiple pieces of legislation that have expanded freedom in the state of Maine. In one of the largest victories of the decade for liberty at the state level, Brakey was able to successfully push through a Constitutional Carry bill in the Maine Senate, making Maine only the 6th Constitutional Carry state at the time in the country. Brakey was also able to successfully push for the passage of “Right To Try” legislation in Maine, giving terminally ill patients the right to use medicines which have not yet been approved by the FDA because they are in the clinical trial process, making Maine the 27th Right To Try state. Brakey continues to fight for liberty in the Maine Senate, fighting for the right to conceal carry without a permit for those who are 21 and over. If there is a state level legislator who has a better record than Eric Brakey of fighting for and passing outstanding legislation I am not aware of them.
Eric enters this race as an admitted underdog, not only facing an entrenched establishmentarian in Angus King, but also the possibility of former governor Paul LePage getting involved in the Republican Primary mix. That being said, the 28 year old has a clear track record of electoral popularity within the state and a track record of legislative achievement that rivals almost any state level representative. If Brakey can galvanize the support of liberty movement activists who have been waiting so long for a candidate to emerge as a champion of our cause he stands a great chance of getting the money and publicity he needs to compete to win. That being said, it’s on us as liberty activists to step up and give Eric the support he needs in order to compete to become Rand Paul’s right hand man in the Senate. Eric has been fighting for us for most of his adult life, relentlessly fighting for our cause at both the state and national level through legislation and activism. Let’s stand up and fight for him, and perhaps we can win a Senate seat for the liberty movement that will galvanize our momentum and fuel our will to fight on in 2020 and beyond.
I presume he is a Republican, running in the Republican primary, although the article makes this tough to know.
If Ballotpedia is accurate your presumption is correct.
https://ballotpedia.org/Eric_Brakey