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Brent Andrews is an unaffiliated write-in candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine. He lives in Cape Neddick.
You don’t need millions of dollars to run for the U.S. Senate
I’m an engineer, not a politician. I live in Cape Neddick, I have never held office, and I am running for U.S. Senate in Maine as an unaffiliated write-in candidate. I am paying for my campaign myself and taking no donations at all.
That is a choice. Candidates routinely raise millions of dollars and fill your phone with fundraising texts. I think voters can expect more professionalism and integrity than that from the people who ask for their vote.
My purpose for doing this campaign out of pocket, with no donations, is to show that it’s possible. If this works, anybody can do this, and you don’t need millions of dollars.
I did not plan to run this year. I had been thinking about a future Senate run, but a series of conversations with Mainers, and what I saw in the current race, changed my mind. If I felt like I could see a little more clarity in political situations than some of the people in charge, I started to think, well, then why not me? Somebody just kind of has to say this is enough.
I have spent my career building and repairing infrastructure, from public projects in Hawaii to flood-damaged roads in Vermont to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery. After the 2023 floods, major roads in Vermont stayed out of service for close to a year, and the crews drilling through them found roads built on World War II-era money. It taught me something I carry into every conversation about infrastructure: When you don’t spend the money on infrastructure, you lose the infrastructure to build the infrastructure.
My approach starts from a simple idea. I think we should be supporting humanity. Most, if not all, of my policy positions start from a foundation of human rights. Education, healthcare, transportation and a good job are things people are entitled to, not privileges that depend on income.
Here is how you can support me without giving anything up. Maine uses ranked-choice voting for U.S. Senate, and the state allows a declared write-in candidate to be ranked like any other. I am a declared write-in, on the secretary of state’s official list. So on your ballot, write my name, Brent Andrews, on the write-in line, and rank me alongside your usual choice. You don’t have to not vote for whoever you intend to vote for. You can just add me as a second. Ranking me does not take a vote away from anyone else.
I know it is unusual to ask for a vote this way. But power belongs to the people, not to the parties or the money behind them, and the people’s vote is still the most powerful thing we have.
You can read more about me and where I stand at brentandrewsforsenate.com.