AUGUSTA, Maine — An independent U.S. Senate candidate will no longer be on the November ballot after withdrawing from the race.
Max Linn will officially announce his withdrawal and his endorsement of incumbent Susan Collins via Zoom on Tuesday, July 28, according to his spokesperson, Matthew McDonald.
Linn, a retired financial planner from Bar Harbor, was set to be one of at least two independents on the ballot alongside the Republican incumbent and House Speaker Sara Gideon, a Democrat.
Linn ran for a number of offices in Florida before emerging in Maine politics in 2018 as a conservative aping the style of President Donald Trump. However, he was disqualified from a 2018 Republican U.S. Senate primary after signatures purportedly from dead Mainers showed up on his nominating petitions.
He got on the Senate ballot earlier this year and remained on despite a challenge from former state Sen. Mary Small, R-Bath, an ally of Collins, against 700 of his signatures.