Eric Brakey

Eric Brakey
Member of the Maine Senate
from the 20th district
Assumed office
December 3, 2014
Preceded by John Cleveland
Personal details
Born (1988-08-08) August 8, 1988
Cleveland, Ohio
Political party Republican
Education Ohio University (BA)

Eric Brakey (born August 8, 1988) is the State Senator for District 20 in the Maine Senate, which includes his residence of Auburn as well as New Gloucester, Poland, Minot, and Mechanic Falls. He serves as the Senate Chairman for the Health and Human Services Committee.[1] Winning election in 2014, he defeated incumbent Democratic Senator John Cleveland with 59% of the vote.[2] Winning re-election in 2016, he defeated Democratic challenger Kimberly Sampson with 62% of the vote.

Brakey, an Ohio native,[3] was State Director for the 2012 Ron Paul presidential campaign; Ron Paul supporters winning a majority of Maine delegate seats to the 2012 Republican National Convention, and winning key seats on the Maine Republican State Committee and National Committee.

After working for Ron Paul's 2012 presidential campaign,[4] Brakey led Defense of Liberty PAC, a libertarian political action committee in Maine.[5]

In April 2017, Brakey announced his intention to run for U.S. Senate in 2018 against Angus King.[3]

Tenure and views

Gun laws

In 2015, Brakey sponsored legislation that eliminated Maine's requirement to obtain a permit to carry a concealed firearm "for legal gun owners who are age 21 or older, and for all military servicemen or servicewomen over 18 years old."[6] The legislation won broad bipartisan support in the House and Senate and was signed into law by Governor Paul LePage.[6] The legislation was supported by the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Maine State Police, and opposed by Everytown for Gun Safety, the Maine Chiefs of Police Association, and the Maine Sheriffs' Association.[6]

Welfare reform

In 2016, as Senate Chairman for the Health and Human Services Committee, Brakey negotiated welfare reform legislation, which banned the use of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF) funds on purchases of tobacco, liquor, gambling materials, lottery tickets, bail, firearms, vacations, adult entertainment, and tattoos. To enforce this prohibition, penalties for making prohibited welfare purchases include required restitution for intentional violations and suspensions of benefits ranging from up to three months on the first offense and up to 24 months of suspended benefits on third and subsequent offenses.[7]

Right to try

Brakey, as chair for the Health and Human Services Committee, was the lead Senate sponsor of state "right to try" legislation in 2016, which guarantees terminally ill patients the right to use investigational drugs, treatments and medical devices that have not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The legislation passed the Maine House and Senate and was signed into law by Governor Paul LePage signed the legislation on March 30, 2016, making Maine the 25th state in the nation (and the first in New England) to pass right-to-try legislation.[8]

Health care

Brakey has "declined to say whether he would support allowing women who may become eligible under any expansion of Medicaid in Maine to have access to reproductive health services including abortions."[9] This issue has been a contentious one among Maine state legislators, dividing conservative Republican and Democrats.[9]

2016 presidential election

Brakey has refused to say who he voted for in the 2016 presidential election, saying only that he did not vote for Hillary Clinton.[10]

2016 Republican National Platform

At the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, Brakey represented Maine on the National Platform Committee. Brakey sponsored several amendments to the platform that were voted down, including a measure that would have declared support for medical marijuana,[11] and another measure that would have condemned U.S. military intervention in Libya and called the "deposing of secular dictators in the Middle East" a "failed policy" that should be ended.[12] Brakey also unsuccessfully proposed a platform item calling for the release of the classified 28 pages of the 9/11 report.[13]

2014 Maine State Senate campaign

Brakey announced his campaign for Maine State Senate in July 2013. His campaign chairman was former State Senator Lois Snowe-Mello.[14]

Vita CoCo commercial

In August 2013, during his campaign for the state Senate, Brakey gained attention for a commercial he acted in for Vita CoCo coconut water several years earlier. The commercial featured men dancing in Brazilian bathing suits.[15][16]

Attention to this commercial began when Mike Hein (a former employee of the Maine Christian Civic League) sent video of the commercial to major news outlets in Maine, as well as to Eric Brakey's pastors at East Auburn Baptist Church. In his message, Hein describes Brakey as "dancing around in his underwear in his bedroom, as though he were demon-possessed."[17] Brakey responded, "That's my background, and I'm still doing a lot of acting. I'm an actor, and when I was working professionally in New York City this was a real fun, wonderful opportunity doing a commercial for a national brand."[17] At the time of the controversy, Brakey noted that he was working as an actor with the Lewiston/Auburn Community Little Theatre in an upcoming production of Monty Python's Spamalot, also a comedic piece.[18][19] Maine political commentator Matthew Gagnon wrote that the incident boosted Brakey's State Senate campaign by providing "free publicity" and "an opportunity to show his personality and good nature to the voters."[20]

Ron Paul 2012 presidential campaign

Brakey served as the Maine State Director for the 2012 Ron Paul presidential campaign during the events of the 2012 Maine Republican Convention, in which Ron Paul supporters elected a majority of Maine delegates to the Republican National Convention and took over many key positions in the Maine Republican Party. Bill Nemitz of the Portland Press Herald called this event "the most successful political coup in recent Maine history."[21]

Defense of Liberty PAC

In June 2012, Brakey founded the Defense of Liberty PAC, a libertarian political action committee in Maine.[5] In 2013, the group assigned grades to lawmakers based on their votes on bills they supported (such as legislation to make it legal for Maine residents to carry concealed firearms without a permit) and on bills they opposed (such as legislation to increase the minimum wage).[5] The group designed 10 Republican legislators as "Honor Roll" members for positions aligned with the group, and deemed 21 Democratic legislators and independent Representative Joseph E. Brooks "constitutional threats" for positions opposed to the group.[5]

References

  1. ↑ http://bangordailynews.com/2014/12/23/politics/state-house/maine-lawmakers-release-committee-assignments/
  2. ↑ http://maineelections.bangordailynews.com/
  3. 1 2 http://bangordailynews.com/2017/04/03/politics/gop-state-senator-eric-brakey-kicks-off-underdog-2018-bid-to-unseat-angus-king/
  4. ↑ Katy Steinmetz, The Maine Moment: Loyal Paul Delegates Leave the Floor, Time (August 28, 2012).
  5. 1 2 3 4 Mario Moretto, Libertarian group commends 10 GOP lawmakers, calls 21 Democrats 'constitutional threats', Bangor Daily News (August 11, 2013).
  6. 1 2 3 Mario Moretto & Nick McCrea, LePage signs bill to remove permit mandate for concealed guns, Bangor Daily News (July 8, 2015).
  7. ↑ http://bangordailynews.com/2016/04/16/politics/state-house/compromise-moves-state-welfare-abuse-bill-forward/
  8. ↑ http://www.themainewire.com/2016/03/maine-25th-state-pass-right-to-try/
  9. 1 2 Scott Thistle, Republican bristles at Democrats' attack ads in key Auburn-area Maine Senate contest, Sun Journal (October 28, 2014).
  10. ↑ Michael Shepherd, So, who is this young Republican who wants to unseat Angus King?, Bangor Daily News (April 4, 2017).
  11. ↑ ""Medical Marijuana Fails To Make GOP Platform After Vigorous Debate"". Huffington Post.
  12. ↑ Molly Ball (July 14, 2016). "The Party of Donald Trump?". The Atlantic.
  13. ↑ Moons, Michelle. ""Bush National Security Staffer Leads Effort That Killed Declassification of 28 Pages of 9/11 Report"". Breitbart.com.
  14. ↑ "Campaign Team". Brakey For Senate. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  15. ↑ "Dancing Speedo Video Surfaces Of Senatorial Candidate". Inside Edition. 2013-08-08. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  16. ↑ "Eric Brakey, Maine State Senate Candidate, Defends Swimsuit Dancing (VIDEO)". The Huffington Post. 2013-08-06. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  17. 1 2 Thistle, Scott (2013-08-06). "Maine conservative Senate candidate dances in Speedo". Lewiston Sun Journal. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  18. ↑ Larson, Leslie (August 7, 2013). "Maine State Senate hopeful Eric Brakey used to shake it in a Speedo but now can't shake bad rep". New York Daily News. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  19. ↑ "Dancing Candidate: Political Hopeful Gets Heat Over Swimsuit Video". CBS-DC. 2013-08-07. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  20. ↑ Gagnon, Matt (2013-08-08). "Speedo dance gives Senate campaign legs". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  21. ↑ Nemitz, Bill (2012-08-01). "GOP marshals the umbrella defense". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
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