BAR HARBOR, Maine — Independent Senate candidate Max Linn says he’s been challenging the political establishment for 30 years—and doesn’t plan to stop.
“I think the American experiment in self-government is worth holding on to, and [...] every time I’ve run its been with that in mind,” Linn said during an interview at his Bar Harbor campaign office.
Linn moved to Bar Harbor about 12 years ago after retiring early from a successful financial planning business in Florida. It was there where he first ran for political office, running for Congress in Florida as a Democrat, and another year running for Governor in the Reform Party.
Mainers first heard of Linn in 2018 when he tried to run for U.S. Senate as a Republican, but the Secretary of State ruled a number of Linn’s petition signatures were invalid, and he failed to qualify for the primary ballot.
This year, he’s running as an independent and survived another petition signature challenge to qualify for the ballot.
Linn is now highly critical of the major political parties and says the country needs term limits for Congress to break the parties’ hold on power, citing the current argument over COVID relief funding as an example.
“So the Republican party, [the party of] fiscal responsibility, small government, says let’s print trillions," Linn said. "Trump says 'let's print more,' Democrats say, 'wow, let's print $5 trillion.' So we have no fiscal responsibility or small government anymore. That’s why I’m running."
Linn says if elected, he would get Congress to provide $5,000 COVID relief grants to every Maine family, provide $500 billion to small businesses, and eliminate most current student debt to stimulate the economy. Despite wanting to expend money on those needs, Linn says the country is bankrupt because of poor financial decisions by both the Congress and the White House. He says Washington needs people like him to fix the problems.
“If I win, Maine stays the most influential state in the country for the next six years,” Linn said, explaining that with him as an Independent Senator, both parties would seek his support.
But he admits it's going to be an uphill battle to make major change.
Linn said, "That’s why I want to get there, be the only voice carrying the American flag, [supporting] western civilization, Bill of Rights, the Constitution. For small government and fiscal responsibility. I’ll be the only one. Me.”
Linn is financing his own campaign, and the most recent campaign finance reports indicate that as of October 1, he had spent roughly $450,000.