PORTLAND, Maine — Day after day this fall anyone driving along west Commercial Street toward Portland’s Old Port would have noticed an RV parked on an empty and cheerless plot of land, looking as though it failed to negotiate a bend in the road and got stranded. Emblazoned across the exterior of the RV are slogans touting the Senate campaign of Max Linn. As a vehicle for effective statewide advertising, it leaves something to be desired.
“There are still a lot of people in Maine who don’t know I’m in the race,” Linn acknowledges. “I am the David. They are the Goliath.”
In this case “they” are Democrat Sara Gideon and Republican Susan Collins, whose campaigns, unlike Linn’s, have attracted tens of millions of dollars in contributions. Anger toward these two candidates provides much of the fuel that makes Linn run. “I just don’t feel that the state of Maine has the representation they need in Washington because we have two monolithic parties that are controlling the narrative,” he says. “For instance, if Susan wins, the Republicans get all the influence. If Sara wins, the Democrats get all the influence. Who loses all the influence is Maine.”
Linn is quick to criticize the major parties and their candidates, but what solutions does he have to offer? Watch our interview to find out.