Blaine Richardson Leaves GOP, To Run As Independent

Breaking news this Martin Luther King Jr. Day is the Republican primary for Second Congressional District has lost a candidate. U.S. Navy veteran Blaine Richardson has unenrolled from the Republican Party and will now run as an Independent candidate for Congress.

“For me this decision came down to two things, personal conviction and common sense. As a retired military veteran I have an obligation to defend and support the United States Constitution no matter what, this decision allows for me to fulfill that obligation,” Richardson explained.

Richardson notes his belief that voters are becoming more weary of parties, further stating he feels that his service as a Congressman would be better not being bound to a political establishment.

The Republican Party has suffered a number of defections in the last year. Former National Committeeman Mark Willis joined several State Committee members in signing a resignation letter as they unenrolled, citing a number of issues and party figures they disagree with. Earlier this year, I left as well.

Despite the issues many have with how the party operates, Richardson noted that the Republican Party has been very fair to him.

“The Maine GOP treated my campaign very fairly,” Richardson said, discussing his time in the primary. “Chairman Bennett and Executive Director Jason Savage were always fair to me and my campaign. They offered my campaign all the same resources they did to the other candidates running. I just happen to see the political philosophies that I hold and that my campaign promotes going in a different direction than where the Maine GOP finds itself at this time.”

When it comes to the issues, the newly-unenrolled candidate for Congress discussed privacy, ending the wars, and freedom. This helped contribute to choosing Martin Luther King Jr. Day to make his announcement.

“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a champion of liberty. I am not sure that in the last one hundred years that any one championed the cause of civil rights and civil liberties quite like Dr. King did. That is why my campaign chose to announce this today.”

Going forward, Blaine Richardson plans to continue the spread of the message of liberty.

“As an Independent candidate when I speak with farmers, fishermen, those who work in the lumber industry, those who work in mills and factories, the small business owners and the many military veterans in the Second District and they tell me how they are struggling, they tell me how they cannot afford to live a lifestyle they once enjoyed because of the burden of the federal government, they don’t have to worry if I am going to put loyalty to a political party above their interests. That is what is great about the message of liberty, it is a message of unity.”

Liberty is indeed an inclusive message that all can relate to. Now, as an Independent candidate, Richardson can focus on bringing this directly to the voters for the next year instead of campaigning for a party’s endorsement in the general election.



“My campaign will still keep it’s focus on bringing a message of liberty and returning to a limited constitutional government, the only difference now is that I don’t have to focus my campaign’s resources on trying to win the primary of a particular political party, I can take my message directly to the voters.”

Chris Dixon

About Chris Dixon

Chris Dixon is a libertarian-leaning writer and managing editor for The Liberty Conservative. In addition to his political writing, he also covers baseball for Cleat Geeks and enjoys writing on a number of other topics ranging on Medium.