PORTLAND, Maine — A Republican challenger officially emerged Monday, running against Independent Senator Angus King in November’s election.
Dr. Demi Kouzounas announced her Senate campaign Monday morning in Portland, speaking to a small crowd of supporters and press outside DiMillo's restaurant.
Kouzounas is a Saco, Maine native, a U.S. Army veteran, dentist, and first-generation American of Greek descent.
Among a range of topics, she promised to take on deadly drug imports like fentanyl, and to combat illegal immigration by better securing the nation's borders. She also leveraged her friendship with Maine’s senior Senator Susan Collins—also a Republican—when addressing a group of lobstermen who stood behind her holding campaign signs
"I stand here today, before you all, and promise I will lock arms with Senator Susan Collins and keep the Washington bureaucrats off our lobster boats and out of our fishing waters," she said. "You have my word on that."
Exactly one month before the rally, Kouzounas told NEWS CENTER Maine's Zach Blanchard she intended to run, and that Collins encouraged her to do so.
"Collins thinks very highly of Demi and considers her a good friend," a spokesperson for Collins said at the time. "Demi is known for her passion for public service, including her time in the military and her work providing dental services to Maine families who otherwise would not have access to care."
However, the spokesperson added that Collins "often talks to individuals who are considering running for public office," and said she would not be making a formal endorsement.
A spokesperson for King said at the time King expressed disappointment with Collins' appearance to have "actively recruited" a candidate to run against him. They added that Kouzounas' relationship with Collins would not change "a single thing in the collaborative approach [King] brings to the Senate," including his work with Collins.
At the rally, when asked about her opponent, Kouzounas questioned King's independence, as he caucuses with Democrats.
"I don't know how independent he is," she said. "I'm gonna be more independent than he is."
On Monday, a spokesperson for the King campaign told NEWS CENTER Maine the facts and his track record speak for themselves, certainly when it comes to supporting Maine's fishery.
In the summer of 2022, King staunchly opposed the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch's "red listing" of lobster caught in Maine as unsustainable — a decision made due to a perceived threat of Maine lobster fishing gear to the endangered North Atlantic right whale. Up to that point, no Maine gear had been attributed to such an entanglement.
"They have made a decision, which is a knife in the back of the lobster industry in Maine, with no evidence," King exclaimed at a press conference in Portland on Sept. 9.
In December of that same year, King joined the rest of Maine's congressional delegation in a push for an eventually successful six-year moratorium on new gear regulations that lobster fishery leaders said threatened the entire industry.
Back to Monday, the King campaign spokesperson brushed off Kouzounas' statements.
"As of now, Senator King is focused on his work in the Senate improving economic prospects for Maine people, parents and families – in the fishery as well as shipyards, farms, offices, factories, mills and ventures statewide," they wrote.
Kouzounas was elected chair of the Maine GOP in January 2017, but was voted out of the position in January 2023, in lieu of former state legislator Joel Stetkis.
No Maine GOP leadership spoke at Monday's rally. Nor did anyone make themselves known to the gathered supporters or press. Jason Savage, executive director of the Maine GOP, responded Monday evening to a request for comment.
"Yes, we support her," he wrote. "Today was her day."
He added that the public would begin to hear from the party soon.
At the rally, we asked Kouzounas if she felt she had her party's full support in the race.
"I do; I have so much support," she answered. "I haven’t had one person be negative about my race. I think I have the support."
A member of the National Republican Senatorial Committee attended Monday's rally and told us they're working closely with Kouzounas on her campaign.
Making the announcement in Portland was both personal and strategic for Kouzounas. She said her husband grew up in the Munjoy Hill neighborhood. Then she petitioned to voters in the Democratic stronghold.
"I want the people of Portland to know that although I am a Republican, I will not abandon you or ignore your concerns when I go to Washington, D.C.," she pledged.
Candidates for office have until March 15 to file the campaign papers. The Republican senatorial committee member did not believe another Republican would emerge in the Senate race.
As of Monday, there were also two Democrats listed on the Federal Election Commission website: Natasha Alcala and David Allen Costello.