Posted on 11/30/2023 8:35:02 AM PST by Steven Scharf
[State Senator Eric] Brakey Declines to Seek 4th Term as Maine State Senator, Will Become Executive Director of the Free State Project in New Hampshire
Justin DelMonico
NOVEMBER 30, 2023
State Sen. Eric Brakey (R-Androscoggin), a long-time libertarian crusader and a fixture at the State House, announced Wednesday that he not seek another term in the Legislature.
Instead, Brakey will step into the role of Executive Director with the Free State Project in New Hampshire.
“Serving in the Maine Senate for three terms on behalf of my constituents — defending the freedoms and paychecks of all Maine people — has been (and continues to be) the greatest honor of my life,” Brakey said in a press release.
“Conversations with my wife increasingly focus on our shared desire to grow our family and the challenges of doing so on the current path,” he said.
Brakey, who represents District 20 in the Maine Senate (Auburn, New Gloucester, Poland and Durham), has long been involved in Maine politics, beginning with Ron Paul’s 2012 presidential campaign in Maine.
In 2014 he was first elected to the Maine State Senate at the age of 26, making him the youngest state senator in America at the time. He was reelected to the Maine State Senate in 2016.
In 2018, he won the nomination to be the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate.
He faced and was defeated by incumbent Sen. Angus King, who is nominally independent but caucuses with the Democratic Party.
In 2022 Brakey decided to run for his old Maine Senate seat and won defeating Bettyann Sheats.
Over his three terms in the Maine Senate, Brakey has been outspoken about the threat of government overreach and the value of protecting individual liberty.
Brakey led the charge for constitutional carry to be passed in 2015. This allows all law abiding citizens in Maine to practice concealed and open carry of a firearm without any permit required from the government.
Brakey also had a knack for exposing extremists in left-wing politics.
In June, Brakey proposed an amendment which would have banned the sale or transfer of fetal remains to any for-profit or nonprofit entity, with an exception made for burials and cremations.
All Senate Democrats voted against this proposed amendment.
Brakey is not completely exiting the political world, as he will become the Executive Director of the Free State Project in New Hampshire beginning tomorrow.
According to its website, the Free State Project is a “movement of thousands of freedom-loving people to New Hampshire.”
The movement further describes itself as a “mass migration of more than 20,000 people who have pledged to move to New Hampshire for liberty.”
As Brakey points out in his press release, the Free State Project is endorsed by his political role model, Ron Paul.
Brakey also specified that in order to take his position with the Free State Project, he will have to relocate to New Hampshire.
Brakey said that he hopes a “restoration of liberty in New Hampshire will overflow into neighboring states.”
On X he noted that he will finish out his term in the Maine Senate and move to NH next year.
Eric’s post on X.
Friends —
I write to you today with news about the road ahead, and I wanted you to be among the first to know.
After months of soul-searching and reflection, I have decided against seeking a 4th term in the Maine Senate.
Serving in the Maine Senate for three terms on behalf of my constituents — defending the freedoms and paychecks of all Maine people — has been (and continues to be) the greatest honor of my life.
With the help of my late mentor, the Honorable Lois Snowe-Mello (who also represented this Senate district for three terms), I was elected the youngest state senator in America at the age of 26.
A decade later, my name has appeared on the ballot every election cycle since. In that time, I am proud to have led to charge to:
- Restore 2nd Amendment rights with Constitutional Carry;
- Reform welfare to bring more integrity into our social safety net programs;
- Enact Right to Try legislation to save the lives of terminally ill Mainers;
- Expand access to birth control through over-the-counter availability;
- Foster a small business-driven market for medical cannabis;
- Empower elementary students to win the freedom to own hedgehogs as pets.
At the age of 30, it was also my honor to carry the Maine Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate, meeting people from all corners and walks of life in our great Pine Tree State — and garnering nearly a quarter million votes.
As I approach the age of 36, however, conversations with my wife increasingly focus on our shared desire to grow our family and the challenges of doing so on this current path.
When I look around today in Augusta, I am proud to say there are dozens more champions of liberty within the Republican caucus than when I first began. I am confident they will continue the liberty project in the Maine Legislature in the years ahead when I am no longer there.
And when I look around the country, hundreds of liberty legislators have taken up the charge in their own state capitals where once only a few existed. There is great cause for optimism, both in Maine and across the country.
While my time in public office is coming to a close, my service to the causes I have always fought for will continue in a new fashion.
Beginning tomorrow, December 1, I am stepping into the role of Executive Director for the Free State Project — an organization (endorsed by a hero of mine, former Congressman Ron Paul) whose mission is to build a homeland for liberty in the state of New Hampshire.
Over their twenty-two years in existence, the Free State Project has led thousands of liberty-loving Americans to move to New Hampshire. The movement is having profound impacts on the politics and culture of the state, as well as broader New England — including the passage of remarkable school choice legislation that has become a model for the nation.
During interviews for this position, one of my conditions was flexibility to fulfill my commitment to the people of Auburn, New Gloucester, Poland, and Durham. My constituents elected me to a two-year term and I keep my promises. You can count on me to defend our freedoms and paychecks during my last year in the Maine Senate as fiercely as I ever have.
Upon the completion of my term, however, this opportunity will require me to move to New Hampshire. Having dedicated the last decade of my life to the fight for a Free Maine, I hope you can understand that this is a bitter-sweet decision for me. At the end of the day, however, one idea keeps ringing through my mind: “A Free Maine requires a Free New Hampshire.”
While the Maine electorate has lately followed the rest of New England into the siren song of progressivism — electing politicians who believe we can tax, print, borrow, and spend our way into prosperity, while stripping the people of their fundamental freedoms in exchange for temporary illusions of safety — New Hampshire sits on the knife’s edge between liberty and tyranny.
10:47 AM · Nov 30, 2023
·
4,422 Views
Glad to have him, we need more like him in NH.
He does some consulting work, and I don't know what other outside pay he has.
He is working as a substitute teacher. He has said good things about his experience with it on Facebook.
It might depend on the district, but substitute teachers I know in Maine get a ridiculously small amount per day, it's not enough to live on. There may be "full time" subs that get a regualr salary, but I still don't think it is enough to support a family nowadays.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.