2nd District adds socialist to Nov. ballot Former sheep farmer, teacher third in race for Congress seat

He doesn’t have a war chest.

He doesn’t have the backing of a major political party.

He does, however, have a place on the November ballot in Maine.

Carl Cooley, a 77-year-old former teacher and sheep farmer, on Tuesday became the third candidate for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District seat, according to state elections officials.

Cooley, who lives in the Waldo County town of Jackson, will be listed on the ballot as a member of the Socialist Equality Party, the U.S. branch of which was founded in 1996. The designation makes Cooley the first socialist to run for Congress in Maine, according to state researchers.

“We need a party that is independent of the Democrats and Republicans and can express the needs for the working class,” said Cooley, who attributed his success in gathering signatures to his staunch anti-war stance.

Cooley’s name will appear alongside those of major party candidates U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud, a Democrat, and Brian Hamel, a Republican.

Securing a place on the ballot was no easy task for Cooley, who, like all independent candidates (those not affiliated with an active political party in Maine), needed to submit at least 2,000 signatures to the Secretary of State’s Office by Tuesday’s deadline. Cooley submitted about 3,000 signatures, 2,254 of which were confirmed by elections officials.

Maine’s threshold is strict compared to many states, said Sandy Maisel, a Colby College political science professor, noting that in Tennessee, an independent congressional candidate needs only 25 signatures.

“It’s no small task,” Maisel said of Cooley’s accomplishment.

In 2002, candidates from 38 minor parties – including the Cool Moose Party, the Save Social Security Party and the Grass Roots Party – fielded congressional candidates nationwide.

Despite its demanding ballot-access rules, Maine has been relatively kind to third-party candidates, particularly those from the Maine Green Independent Party, who have maintained their ballot status since 1998.

Maisel, co-author of “Two Parties – Or More?,” a book about the role of third parties in America, said his assessment of Cooley’s socialist bid on the 2nd District race was speculative at best, but presumably worse for the Democrat Michaud.

“If one assumes the [2nd District] race is going to be close, and it very well might be, it could have an effect,” said Maisel, although cautioning that Cooley’s success would be closely tied to his ability to raise money.

Michaud press secretary Monica Castellanos took issue with parts of Cooley’s literature that included Michaud among the “defenders of the ruling elite.”

“The congressman is the strongest voice for the working men and women in Maine and America,” Castellanos said, noting the blue-collar roots of her millworker boss. “When the campaign begins, he’s going to run on his record.”

Hamel, the former head of the Loring Development Authority in Limestone, said a third candidate would do little to change his message.

“We’re going to keep talking about jobs and the economy,” Hamel said. “If he wants to jump into the race, we welcome the challenge.”

In other campaign news, former Bangor City Councilor David Nealley confirmed Tuesday he would not seek the 2nd District seat. Nealley had formed an exploratory committee and later dropped out of the Republican Party to keep open the possibility of an independent bid.

Nealley, who resigned from the Bangor council last month, now lives outside the district in Cape Elizabeth.

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