Maine Republicans on June 24 decided that they want former Congressman Bruce Poliquin to once again represent their interests in Washington.
Decision Desk HQ called the race for Poliquin at 10:23 p.m. ET.
Poliquin, who has the backing of Republican gubernatorial candidate Paul LePage, was a 2019 Trump nominee to the government-run Securities Investment Protection Corporation (SIPC).
With his “Bring Back Bruce” campaign, he garnered 61.5 percent of votes with 26 percent of the ballots counted at 10:39 p.m. ET, according to Decision Desk HQ. He defeated GOP contender Liz Caruso.
Brent Littlefield, Poliquin’s campaign advisor, told The Epoch Times, that the upper echelon of Washington Republicans are already lining up to assure Poliquin takes the important Congressional seat. Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) is already scheduled to come to Maine and campaign for Poliquin.
On the morning of Maine’s primaries, New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, Chairwoman of the Republican House Conference, urged the state’s Republicans to support Poliquin.
“Bruce has what it takes to take back this critical seat in the fight to Fire Pelosi and Save America!” Stefanik wrote on Twitter.
Poliquin, a former state treasurer in Maine, has twice held the office, looking to take it back from Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine). Poliquin lost the seat to Golden in 2018 under Maine’s ranked-choice voting, an electoral system that kicks in when no contender receives more than 50 percent of the vote.
Poliquin did not readily accept defeat. He filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the electoral system, but a federal judge ruled ruled against him, leading Poliquin to eventually concede to the young Democrat and former U.S. Marine.
Poliquin has made bids for other offices including the 2012 race for U.S. Senate in which he won the Republican nomination from Maine voters. When he was elected a second time to U.S. Congress in 2017, Poliquin stood alone as the only Republican representing a U.S. House district in all of New England’s six states.
Poliquin built his wealth off investment management ventures in New York and Chicago. He brings a diverse political and personal background back to the national arena.
