AUBURN — As state Sen. Eric Brakey, an Auburn Republican, prepares to move to New Hampshire after Election Day, he’s hoping to convince most of Maine to come with him.
Brakey, who is not seeking reelection, has repeatedly suggested this year that Maine’s GOP-leaning 2nd Congressional District ought to secede from the Pine Tree State and join New Hampshire instead.
Map depicting both of Maine’s congressional districts. Maine Legislature
It’s likely not a popular idea in Lewiston and Auburn, but Brakey said residents of the small towns spread throughout the nation’s most rural congressional district are increasingly fed up with coming up on the losing end on a growing number of critical issues. As examples, he cited the restrictions of the pandemic period and ranked-choice voting.
Comparing the 2nd District, which includes half of Maine’s citizens and much of its territory, to a domestic violence victim, Brakey said the state’s Democratic majority is “going to keep abusing” those in less populated western and northern counties.
“Why shouldn’t a domestic violence victim fight to change their partner?” Brakey asked.
Brakey took a job as the executive director of the Free State Project, a group encouraging libertarian-minded Americans to move to New Hampshire, and announced last fall he would move to the neighboring state once his term ends.
State Rep. Adam Lee, an Auburn Democrat, wished Brakey luck in his upcoming move to the Granite State.
“But he doesn’t get to take the 700,000 citizens of Maine’s 2nd District with him,” Lee said.
“Those of us who are staying here will continue to fight to ensure that our voices are heard in Augusta,” Lee added.
Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline said he is “excited for Mr. Brakey’s opportunity in New Hampshire, and I understand it’s lovely there, but myself and Lewiston are proudly Maine.”
Auburn Mayor Jeff Harmon doesn’t see any merit to Brakey’s idea.
“As with most of Eric Brakey’s ideas, this is not a serious proposal and is only designed to gain attention and excite his Free State Project followers,” Harmon said.
He predicted the proposal “won’t advance any further than prior proposals for northern Maine to secede.”
Brakey said, though, that voters and legislators in the 1st District show “absolute contempt” for their 2nd District counterparts “to have their voices heard in our democratic systems.”
“I don’t see it getting better,” he said.
He said voters “will not tolerate this disenfranchisement forever” and will likely take inspiration from secessionist movements elsewhere in the country, including efforts by 13 eastern Oregon counties angling to become part of Idaho, which is next door.
Eric Brakey Submitted photo
“I wonder how long until a ‘Greater New Hampshire Movement’ is a regular feature of our own discourse in Maine,” Brakey said.
The senator, who ran unsuccessfully in 2018 as the GOP candidate for U.S. Senate, said he has received positive responses to the idea of secession “from legislators on both sides of the border.”
This isn’t the first time Brakey has warned that secession might follow if the “political dominance” and “leftward swing” of Portland and coastal Maine continues.
In April, Brakey took to the state Senate floor to register his “disgust” at lawmakers’ support for a measure to tie Maine’s electoral votes to the national popular vote.
He said Maine’s rural voters have put up with “attempt after attempt over the last decade to silence their voice” on issues ranging from ranked-choice voting to an attempt to remove Donald Trump from Maine’s presidential ballot.
“I wonder how long this disrespect and disenfranchisement will be endured,” Brakey said.
“To the members who believe the voting majorities of the 2nd District will have their teeth kicked in and their voices silenced again and again only to grin and bear it, I wonder if they know what democracy actually looks like,” Brakey told senators.
Brakey said that if 2nd District concerns continue to be brushed aside, “measures once considered inconceivable” can turn out to be on the table.
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Publish date : 2024-09-23 11:39:00
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